In recent years, due to the wide application of lithium batteries in new energy vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer electronics, the number of scrapped batteries has increased sharply, driving the rapid growth of the waste lithium battery recycling industry.
According to a number of media reports, a number of small workshops and small factories with incomplete qualifications have emerged in the current market, which have set foot in the field of waste lithium battery recycling without permission, and due to the lack of professional technology and safety measures, frequent fires and other accidents have occurred in the process of dismantling waste lithium batteries.
At the same time, some network anchors sell dismantling and assembling lithium battery courses under the guise of the state encouraging the "echelon utilization" of lithium batteries, with "zero threshold, low investment, and fast money" as bait.
With the boom in the production and sales of new energy vehicles in the mainland, the relevant policies of retired power batteries have aroused a strong reaction from public opinion, which to a certain extent shows that there are certain irregularities and poor supervision, and in the specific implementation process, once the relevant departments do not grasp it well, it will cause disorderly competition.
1. Relevant background
(1) The situation of new energy vehicles in mainland China in recent years.
According to data from the Ministry of Public Security, by the end of 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in mainland China will reach 20.41 million, accounting for 6.07% of the total number of vehicles, of which 15.52 million will be pure electric vehicles, accounting for 76.04% of the total number of new energy vehicles. In 2023 alone, 7.42 million new energy vehicles will be registered, an increase of 2.07 million compared to 2022.
(2) The first batch of waste batteries for new energy vehicles will be collectively retired.
According to the Research Report of the Development Research Center, as of 2023, the standardized recycling rate of power batteries for new energy vehicles in China is less than 25%. It is estimated that by 2030, the retirement of domestic power batteries will reach 3.5 million tons.
2. Problems in the recycling and disposal of waste batteries
(1) Small workshop recycling has become the main market for waste battery recycling. At present, a large number of small workshops and self-employed households have gained market competitive advantages through illegal operations and relatively high recycling prices, which makes formal recycling enterprises poorly managed, insufficient supply of goods, and sluggish economic benefits, which affects the healthy and benign development of the battery recycling industry and exacerbates the chaos of battery recycling. The deputy general manager of Zhejiang Huayou Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. said: small workshops participate in the auction of recycled batteries, and their quotations are usually 15% higher than the list of white enterprises, and the premium has exceeded the regular profit space of enterprises, seriously undermining the market operation order, causing disorderly competition, and endangering the production and operation of formal enterprises, affecting the development of the industry market.
(2) Frequent safety accidents. According to the current national standard "Classification and Name Number of Dangerous Goods", the retired power battery of new energy vehicles belongs to the 9th category of dangerous goods, and the handling and transportation must be standardized under professional guidance, otherwise accidents such as electric shock and deflagration may occur. In Shanghai alone, there will be a total of 1,020 fires caused by power batteries in 2023, of which more than half of the accidents are caused by modifications and non-standard lithium-ion batteries.
(3) Seriously polluting the environment. If waste batteries are not processed into cascade products, there are higher requirements for resource recycling of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and other elements. At present, only 60 of the 156 "white list" are qualified for recycling. In order to increase profits and gain market competitive advantages, small workshops often sacrifice the environment, resulting in serious environmental pollution and seriously affecting the lives of people in the surrounding areas.
(4) The standardized recycling rate of batteries is low, and the support and binding force of policies and regulations are insufficient. At present, the "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles" issued by the state has clarified the main responsibilities of recycling enterprises, but has not detailed the reward and punishment system, implementation details, and punishment measures, and lacks support and binding force for battery production, use, recycling and other entities at all levels. Industry insiders believe that although the policy clarifies the main body of battery recycling, in fact, there are few direct recycling by automobile companies, most of which are through entrusted recycling, and at the same time, the responsibility of "relevant enterprises" is not clearly defined, and how to effectively promote closed-loop management and other issues need to be solved urgently.
3. How we can do better
Strengthen the force of crackdown and punishment, and protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens. It is necessary to strengthen the supervision and management of the lithium battery recycling and service market, and increase efforts to focus on cracking down on illegal recycling, illegal sales and other illegal and criminal acts.