Breaking news! Important signals for the release of retired power batteries and the import of recycled materials!

Recently, the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Replacement," sending an important signal for the release of retired power batteries and the import of recycled materials! From the perspective of market scale, data shows that global sales of new energy vehicles reached 14.65 million units in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 35.4%, mainly driven by electric vehicles. Among them, China, Europe, and the United States rank in the top 3. Against the backdrop of continuous innovation in lithium-ion batteries supporting a high growth rate of global electric vehicles, the industry expects that by 2024, global electric vehicle sales may exceed 18 million units. Looking further ahead, by 2040, the global electric vehicle ownership may reach 300 million to 400 million units.

Battery China notes that prior to this, our country prohibited the import of retired power batteries and only issued import standards for certain powdered products obtained from pre-treated lithium battery waste. In recent years, our country has been relatively slow in importing power batteries and related recycled materials to achieve large-scale recycling.

The action plan released this time clearly mentions in promoting high-level recycling of resources that "we will explore the establishment of an information traceability system for the use of recycled materials such as recycled plastics and recycled metals that meet international standards. We will continuously improve the technical level of waste non-ferrous metal utilization and strengthen the research and application of rare and precious metal extraction technologies. We will timely improve the import standards and policies for retired power batteries and recycled materials."

This indicates that our country will not only explore the establishment of a traceability system for recycled materials and improve the technical level of rare and precious metal extraction, but also for the first time put the import of retired power batteries "on the agenda."

From a regional perspective, apart from the Chinese market, overseas markets such as Europe and North America have become major emerging markets for electric vehicles in recent years. Huatai Securities predicts that by 2025, the installed capacity of power batteries in Europe and the United States will reach 214 GWh and 364 GWh, respectively.

Power batteries require "where production comes from, where retirement goes."

In recent years, our country's electric vehicle and power battery companies have been very concerned about overseas policies, standards, etc., and in the field of retired power battery imports, understanding international demand is also very necessary for companies to plan ahead. The "EU Battery and Waste Battery Regulation," which took effect on August 17, 2023, has made clear requirements for the recycling of power batteries.

This regulation sets requirements for various types of power batteries sold and used in the EU: by 2030, the overall recycling rate of power batteries will be raised to 73%; new battery production requires at least 16% recycled cobalt, 85% recycled lead, 6% recycled lithium, and 6% recycled nickel.

According to the European Commission's estimates, by 2040, the materials related to recycling will account for 51% and 42% of the EU's demand for cobalt and nickel, respectively. It is worth noting that the above regulation also requires that old batteries scrapped from new energy vehicles sold locally must be returned to the place of vehicle production for recycling.

The EU's tightening of retired power battery recycling not only raises the requirements for battery recycling and reuse but also means that in the future, retired power batteries will be returned to the place of production for processing along with the vehicle. Against this backdrop, leading companies from multiple countries around the world, including China, have already made arrangements.

Leading companies are intensifying efforts in battery recycling and reuse. According to statistics, our Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released five batches of lists of enterprises that meet the "Comprehensive Utilization Industry Specification Conditions for Waste Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles," with a total of 156 enterprises listed. Currently, leading lithium battery companies such as CATL, BYD, Guoxuan High-Tech, EVE Energy, Hive Energy, Xinwanda, and Ruipu Lanjun, as well as battery industry chain companies like Shanshan, Huayou, and Greeenme, are continuously increasing their efforts in the battery recycling field.

CATL's subsidiary, Bangpu Recycling, is investing in a battery recycling project in Indonesia, which will return key raw materials such as crude nickel-cobalt hydroxide, manganese hydroxide, and lithium salts obtained from the initial processing of battery waste back to China, establishing a "primary + recycled" dual-chain overseas resource guarantee.