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On August 14, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Industry Standard Conditions for Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles (2024 Draft for Comments)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Draft for Comments"), which put forward corresponding management requirements and conditions for enterprises engaged in the cascade utilization or recycling of waste power batteries of new energy vehicles. According to the "Draft for Comments", in order to strengthen the management of the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries of new energy vehicles and improve the comprehensive utilization level of waste power batteries, it is proposed to put forward requirements for enterprise layout and project site selection, comprehensive utilization capacity, product quality, environmental protection, etc. Among them, it is proposed to actively carry out the research and development and application of recycling technologies, equipment, and processes for positive and negative electrode materials, diaphragms, electrolytes, etc., strive to improve the level of recycling of waste power batteries, and ensure the effective extraction and recovery of major valuable metals through smelting or material repair.

More detailed requirements for extraction recovery rate

As early as 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Industry Standard Conditions for Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles (2019 Edition)", which at that time put forward corresponding requirements and standards for enterprises engaged in the cascade utilization or recycling of waste power batteries of new energy vehicles in terms of corporate layout and project site selection, technology, equipment and process, comprehensive utilization of resources and energy consumption, environmental protection requirements, product quality and vocational education, as well as production safety, personal health and social responsibility.

Judging from the content of the "Draft for Comments" released this time, it is based on the above-mentioned documents, and has been adjusted and improved in response to some changes and new trends in the current industry, and has put forward some newer and more detailed requirements.

Among them, in the "comprehensive utilization capacity", the "Draft for Comments" added content about enterprise R&D investment, requiring: "The annual cost of R&D and process improvement shall not be less than 3% of the comprehensive utilization business income of waste power batteries. Enterprises are encouraged to apply for provincial and above independent R&D institutions, engineering laboratories, technology centers or high-tech enterprise qualifications." For enterprises in cascade utilization, the document requires that they should have technical invention patents for key technologies or main products or more than 3 utility model patents. The annual amount of waste power batteries recycled should not be less than 60% of the actual amount of waste power batteries recycled (the amount of utilization and recycling are calculated by weight).

At the same time, for recycling enterprises, the "Draft for Comments" puts forward more and more detailed requirements for the extraction and recovery rates of major valuable metals. Among them, the recovery rates of copper and aluminum should not be less than 98%, the recovery rate of electrode powder after crushing and separation should not be less than 98%, the impurity aluminum content should be less than 1%, and the impurity copper content should be less than 1%; the lithium recovery rate in the smelting process should not be less than 90%, the recovery rates of nickel, cobalt and manganese should not be less than 98%, the comprehensive recovery rate of other major valuable metals such as rare earths should not be less than 97%, the fluorine solidification rate should not be less than 99.5%, and the comprehensive energy consumption of lithium carbonate production should be less than 2,200 kg of standard coal per ton; if the material repair process is adopted, the sum of the mass of recycled materials should account for no less than 99% of the sum of the mass of the target materials contained in the original power battery.

Regarding the addition and supplement of the above content, Pan Helin, a well-known economist and member of the Information and Communication Economics Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that the release of the "Draft for Comments" is of great significance. This move will further strengthen the recycling of waste power batteries, which will be conducive to building a complete power battery recycling system and avoiding the negative impact of improper recycling of waste power batteries on the environment, ecology and public safety.

Reducing import dependence to resolve resource conflicts

By the end of 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in my country has reached 20.41 million, and the total amount of retired power batteries in my country in 2023 will exceed 580,000 tons. As the number of new energy vehicles in my country increases, power battery recycling is also growing rapidly. According to the warranty conditions of car companies, if the maximum capacity of the power battery decays to less than 70% to 80%, the battery may need to be replaced. "Last year, the number of retired power batteries increased by more than 140% year-on-year, entering a period of retirement growth, and the power battery recycling industry is ushering in a new stage of accelerated development." Shuai Shijin, professor at the School of Vehicle and Transportation Engineering of Tsinghua University, believes.

Fu Yuwu, honorary chairman of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, said in a previous interview with the media that power batteries account for about 50% of carbon emissions in the production stage of new energy vehicles. Establishing and improving a power battery recycling and utilization system is very important to improving the resource utilization level of the entire industry and reducing carbon emissions throughout the life cycle.

According to Lang Xuehong, deputy secretary-general of the China Automobile Dealers Association, strengthening the recycling of power batteries can meet 20% of the lithium, 11% of the nickel and 25% of the cobalt resource needs of my country's new energy vehicles each year, and reduce my country's dependence on imports of key raw materials for power batteries.

Pan Helin said that my country's battery recycling industry is still in its infancy. Batteries are recycled, but the comprehensive utilization capacity of batteries needs to be strengthened, and the utilization rate of recycled batteries needs to be improved. "In the future, it is necessary to introduce follow-up policies in standardization, formulate more stringent and safe standards for battery recycling and reuse, and put forward higher requirements for the utilization rate of battery resources."

Beijing Business Daily reporter Jin Chaoli Cheng Liang