Author | Jia Weizhong
Source | Car selection network
This year's Two Sessions of the National People's Congress, the 2022 "Government Work Report" proposed: "Continue to support the consumption of new energy vehicles." Xiao Yaqing, minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in an interview at the Great Hall of the People: "The sales of new energy vehicles in the mainland in the first two months of this year were very good, more than doubled, and it is expected to reach the expected target this year, which may greatly exceed the expected target." ”
Recently, the Securities Daily reported: "The rapid development of new energy vehicles has made the supply of products in the power battery industry chain in short supply, which has led to a sharp rise in prices, resulting in a 'highlight moment' for power battery recycling." ”
In fact, the reason why power battery recycling ushered in a "highlight moment", in addition to the sharp rise in prices, another important factor is that the first batch of new energy power batteries entered a large-scale decommissioning period. It is estimated that the decommissioned power batteries in mainland China will be close to 800,000 tons in 2025.
How to dispose of decommissioned power batteries is a common problem encountered everywhere. People's Daily twice posted articles on June 8 and December 8 last year pointing out that it should "better solve the problem of power battery recycling". Why does the recycling of waste power batteries attract the attention of People's Daily?
On the one hand, the reason is that the recycling of waste power batteries is a major event related to ecological and environmental protection. Industry insiders told the "Car Selection Network": "The time of natural degradation of waste power batteries is ten thousand years, almost the same as nuclear waste, so it cannot rely on its own degradation, in other words, it cannot be discarded." At the same time, power battery recycling requires electricity. With 70% of China's electricity coming from firepower, recycling power batteries increases carbon emissions. ”
On the other hand, the reason is that there are problems in the end-of-life recycling of power batteries. "People's Daily" said: "At present, in the echelon utilization link after the recovery of power batteries, there are problems such as a relatively single business model, a limited scale of use, and low operating efficiency, and how to reduce costs and achieve multi-scenario use needs to be further excavated." It should also be noted that the power battery after partial decommissioning flows into the 'black workshop' to make a small charging treasure, or simply processes and impersonates a new battery, or even extracts precious metals by means of soil methods, bringing hidden dangers to the safety environment, and it is urgent to strengthen supervision. ”
Objectively speaking, the birth and development of new energy vehicles is largely due to the needs of environmental protection, and also reflects the lifestyle of green travel. The recycling of waste batteries of new energy vehicles seems to be a terminal problem, but it is actually a necessary condition for the sustainable development of the industry.
Therefore, in view of the recycling of waste power batteries, the relevant departments have successively introduced relevant policies and measures to build an institutional framework to solve this problem.
As early as 2018, the national monitoring and power battery recycling and traceability comprehensive management platform for new energy vehicles was launched, and a unified traceability supervision platform was also established and connected to the national platform to achieve the whole life cycle supervision of power batteries.
The 2021 "Government Work Report" proposes: "Accelerate the construction of a power battery recycling system." In August last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other 5 departments jointly issued the "Management Measures for the Cascade Utilization of New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries" to accelerate the construction of the power battery recycling system. In February this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other 8 departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan on Accelerating the Comprehensive Utilization of Industrial Resources" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which proposes to improve the recycling system of waste power batteries and promote the safe ladder application of waste power batteries in the fields of power backup, charging and replacement.
Recently, Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the press conference of the State Council New Office: "Improve the power battery recycling system, support efficient dismantling, recycling and other technical research, and continuously improve the recycling ratio and resource utilization efficiency." ”
Although the relevant departments attach great importance to the recycling of waste batteries, this industry involves new energy vehicles and battery manufacturers, terminal utilization enterprises, with wide coverage and long industrial chain. Therefore, the People's Daily proposed: "Whether it is to inhibit the survival and development of the gray industrial chain, or to implement the traceability management of the whole life cycle of power batteries, it is not only necessary for the relevant enterprises of the industrial chain to take joint actions." Moreover, it is necessary to create a social atmosphere of participation by the whole people, publicize the environmental safety risks and related policies of waste power batteries, increase the exposure of illegal acts, and enhance the awareness of resource conservation and environmental protection in the whole society. ”
Overall, the production and sales of new energy vehicles have grown rapidly, the market share has increased significantly, and the battery problems that follow are closely related to our ordinary consumers. From a micro-point of view, the power battery capacity decays, can not support the mileage, and it costs a lot to replace a new battery. At the same time, if the recycling of waste power batteries is too long, it will cause an increase in costs, and the increased cost will also be passed on to consumers. On the other hand, if there is a problem of incomplete recycling, it will bring about hidden dangers in the safety environment and will also affect future generations.
Therefore, the People's Daily proposed: "both green travel, but also green update", and better solve the problem of "where to decommissioned power batteries", we need to unite multiple parties.
(Image source: Internet)