The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently sent to all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) the "Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the Application for Standardized Enterprises in the Comprehensive Utilization of Renewable Resources and Mechanical and Electrical Products Remanufacturing Industry in 2024", which clearly suspends the acceptance of the application conditions for enterprises for the comprehensive utilization of power batteries for new energy vehicles.
What are the reasons for suspending the acceptance of enterprise declarations, what adjustments will be made to the new declaration standards, and when will the follow-up declaration work be restarted?
"It was very surprising that the application should be submitted in April, and a thick stack of relevant materials had been prepared, but the competent department suddenly suspended the declaration, neither giving time for reaction nor explanation, which made us confused and caught off guard. A business person recently expressed his helplessness to a reporter from China Energy News.
The above-mentioned suspension of declaration refers to the "Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the Application for Standardized Enterprises in the Comprehensive Utilization of Renewable Resources and Mechanical and Electrical Products Remanufacturing Industry in 2024" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) a few days ago, which clearly suspends the acceptance of the application specifications for enterprises for the comprehensive utilization of power batteries for new energy vehicles.
In the comprehensive utilization industry of new energy vehicle power battery, the declaration work is very important, and the successful selected enterprises will engage in related work as a "regular army", which is a necessary condition for the bidding of automobile factories and battery enterprises. It is worth noting that on January 17 this year, the list of enterprises in the new batch of "Industry Standard Conditions for the Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles" was officially released, and only 60 days later, the industry suddenly changed. What are the reasons for suspending the acceptance of enterprise declarations, what adjustments will be made to the new declaration standards, and when will the follow-up declaration work be restarted?
Unexpected
The comprehensive utilization of power batteries for new energy vehicles is an emerging field, and if the power batteries that are retired on a large scale are not properly disposed of, it will not only bring a series of environmental problems and safety problems, but also cause waste of resources. In order to establish a benchmarking effect and guide the development of the industry, since 2018, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has established a list of enterprises with standardized conditions, which is commonly known as the "white list" system in the industry, and set thresholds for entering enterprises in terms of technology, environmental protection and safety.
"After several years of declaration, the 'click' stopped, too suddenly. As far as I know, the suspension of the declaration did not solicit the opinions of associations and enterprises, even if we let go in advance, we have a psychological preparation. The statement in the "Notice" on the suspension of declaration is only 23 words, and it is not clear when the new norms will come out and whether it can be declared this year. The above-mentioned business person said that the "Notice" does not set a transition period and timetable.
In response to the troubles of enterprises, the reporter of "China Energy News" called the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and relevant people said that the list of enterprises with standardized conditions is voluntarily declared by enterprises, and whether to declare has no impact on the production and operation of enterprises, and it is not necessary to declare to engage in production and operation. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will organize experts to revise the application specifications and conditions in combination with the actual situation of the development of the industry to better promote the development of the industry. The timing of the resumption of the declaration will be notified separately according to the revision.
However, the suspension of filings is still making waves in the industry. "Since 2018, Tesla settled in Shanghai to trigger the catfish effect, new energy vehicles began to increase rapidly, according to the law of industrial development, lithium batteries are generally scrapped in about 6-8 years, and starting in 2024, they will gradually enter a period of rapid development of the battery recycling industry. The suspension of the 'white list' has forced some investment projects to wait and see, or even stop. You know, the investment of battery recycling enterprises is as high as tens of millions of yuan or even hundreds of millions of yuan, and the company is also beating drums in its heart. Another business person said.
predictable
The suspension was abrupt, but the controversy over the "white list" has been around for a long time.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released five batches of white lists in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, with 5, 22, 20, 41, and 68 companies selected, respectively, with a total of 156 companies selected. The reporter of "China Energy News" noticed that compared with the first three batches, the fourth and fifth batches of selected enterprises have been greatly expanded, especially in the fifth batch of selected enterprises, many of which have been established for less than a year. The battery recycling process is complex, involving machinery, metallurgy, chemistry and other disciplines, and whether these companies can meet the threshold requirements in a short period of time and whether they have production capacity once aroused market doubts.
In the view of Wang Hao, chairman of Shandong Yiwei New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd., the suspension of the acceptance of new energy vehicle power battery comprehensive utilization enterprise declaration conditions or two considerations: first, the number and distribution area of the enterprises currently shortlisted in the "white list" have been able to meet the current market demand; The competent authorities also hope to guide the industry to change from the "quantity" to the "quality" in the early stage.
"It's good to stop. Zhao Xiaoyong, chairman of Beijing Saidmei, told the China Energy News that the survival of battery recycling companies is under pressure. In 2023, the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries for new energy vehicles in mainland China will be 225,000 tons, and all of them will be divided into 156 formal enterprises, each with a recycling capacity of less than 1,500 tons, and the fierce competition in the industry can be imagined. Not only is the "white list" and non-"white list" companies competing for the market, but now the "white list" companies are also beginning to "fight". If the "whitelist" enterprises expand too much and too quickly, they will lose their exemplary significance. There are 10 companies in each batch, and more than 200 companies are finally screened out.
If you want to hurry, you can't reach it, and if you want to do it too much, you can't reach it. "The 'white list' declaration work is a local project, and out of the consideration of revitalizing the economy, all localities hope that more enterprises will enter the bureau. Zhao Xiaoyong said frankly that at present, some enterprises "sell dog meat on the head of a sheep", do mineral processing under the banner of recycling, and do face engineering with the mentality of "taking a vote and leaving", and there are only a handful of enterprises that really focus on battery recycling.
Orderly development
In fact, many industries have established a "white list" system in the early stage of development, and use it to guide the development of the industry. For example, since 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a number of batches of power battery "white lists", which directly promote the rapid development of local enterprises such as CATL and BYD. As the industry matured, the system was officially withdrawn from the historical stage in 2019. So, will the "white list" for the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries also usher in the moment of withdrawal?
Huang Fusheng, general manager of Beijing Pengmi Technology Co., Ltd., believes that the current "white list" system is still very necessary. Different from other industries, battery recycling treatment requires professional technology and equipment, and the electrolyte contains fluoride components, which will form harmful hydrofluoric acid in contact with water, which is harmful to the human respiratory tract and should be operated by standardized enterprises. Only through the "white list" system to standardize management, put forward high requirements for environmental protection, equipment, and dismantling process, can we promote the healthy development of the industry with benchmarking. He believes that the "white list" system can be further optimized, and it is best to adhere to the "national game of chess" for construction and declaration, and allocate indicators to various places according to the number and growth of electric vehicles in various places, so as to increase the transparency of audit and certification. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly implement the dynamic management mechanism of entry and exit, protect enterprises with production capacity, and let enterprises that really want to do things well in accordance with the rules and regulations, and let unrelated enterprises withdraw.
In Wang Hao's view, the core of the orderly development of the power battery recycling industry is to improve the management system. It is necessary to further refine the operating rules at the landing end, effectively strengthen industry supervision, and severely crack down on illegal recycling. At the same time, increase user education on the hazards and compliance management of used batteries, and even introduce certain incentives or incentives to promote standardized recycling.
The comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries is related to the development of the new energy vehicle industry and the safety of the public environment, and it is necessary to do a good job. "Last year, Fujian, Shenzhen and other places proposed to be included in the 'white list' of enterprises to give real money funding, with the suspension of the 'white list' declaration, how to connect the implementation of follow-up subsidies needs to be straightened out. It is hoped that the relevant departments will clarify the resumption time of the declaration as soon as possible. The above-mentioned business source said.
Original title: The suspension of the "white list" of power battery recycling enterprises has caused heated discussions
Text | Reporter Lu Qixiu and Yang Zi
EndEdit | Yan Zhiqiang