All statements in this article are based on reliable information, and the sources are detailed at the end of the article
Preface
"I don't use electric cars anyway, saying it's environmentally friendly, but once the battery is wasted, the pollution caused by the waste battery will not be low."
As a big supporter of gasoline vehicles, Mr. Zhao has always opposed his wife's purchase of an electric car to get around.
But for Mr. Zhao's statement that the batteries of electric vehicles are easy to break, and waste batteries will also cause environmental pollution, his wife has a different opinion:
"My colleague has bought an electric car for several years, and it still performs very well, and the money used for charging in the key year has not even reached the fuel money for two months of the gas car."
"What's more, waste batteries can also be recycled, isn't recycling to further save energy?" In the face of his wife's rebuttal, Mr. Zhao didn't know what to say.
But he often watches information about the automotive industry, and recently he still paid attention to a piece of news.
That is, the European Union has issued a new regulation, which requires that the end-of-life batteries must be returned to the country of origin for disposal.
He couldn't help but wonder: "Does our country have the ability to process more and more waste batteries?"
1. The European Union has issued new regulations for waste batteries
In contrast to gasoline vehicles, which get enough horsepower after refueling, electric vehicles are powered by batteries.
And in the case of different models, the number of batteries configured will be different, as little as one or two groups, as many as more than a dozen groups.
As the market for electric vehicles expands more and more, a problem that comes with it has also attracted much attention.
That is, when the service life is reached, how to deal with the "decommissioned" waste batteries that gradually increase in scale?
In particular, China, as a major exporter of electric vehicles, European and American countries, which are already not pleasing to China's development, believe that if China continues to produce electric vehicles on a large scale, it will not only lead to the problem of overcapacity in the relevant industrial chain, but also make the pollution of waste batteries more serious.
In fact, in August 2023, the new EU Battery and Waste Battery Regulation has come into effect, and there are requirements for the entire life cycle of batteries.
The aim of this regulation is to further the green transformation of European industry by bringing batteries into the circular economy.
Recently, however, the EU has added new regulations that require end-of-life batteries to be returned to the country of origin for disposal.
Many people speculate that this move is a means of containment against China's electric vehicle industry, because the EU has not "rolled" China in terms of electric vehicle-related industrial technology and output, and now it wants to find a way back.
Even if you put aside electric vehicles, China's lithium battery exports alone are already huge, reaching as much as $59.7 billion in the first 11 months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%. It is worth mentioning that among the countries that China exports, Europe is the largest export market accounting for about 4 percent, followed by the United States and Southeast Asia.
Second, the development of waste battery recycling in China is on the rise
In terms of recycling waste batteries, China has been trying to do a good job in related industries.
The sources of power battery recycling can generally be divided into four aspects, namely defective products and scraps in the production process, "decommissioned" power batteries, scraps imported from overseas, and batteries used in scrapped electric vehicles.
With the improvement of production technology, the defective products and waste generated in battery production will be relatively reduced. As of June 26, 2023, there are already 56 listed companies in the A-share capital market, which are making a scientific layout of the power battery recycling business, not to mention many small and micro enterprises.
In 2023, the actual recycling volume of lithium-ion batteries in China will be about 623,000 tons, and now with the gradual establishment of "alliances" between formal enterprises, the recycling channels and reuse rate of waste batteries in China may be better improved.
3. Opportunities in China's tram market
The EU has set various thresholds through regulations, although it will put China under pressure to a certain extent, but improving industry standards is also beneficial to Chinese companies, which will help to gain greater competitiveness in the global battery industry.
In addition, the EU's move may also allow Chinese EV and battery companies to establish battery recycling networks in Europe and other countries in order to save production and recycling costs.
In fact, in this way, it is a win-win situation, and local people in Europe can get more employment opportunities.
Compared with Europe and the United States, which have said that they have delayed or even abandoned the research and development of electric vehicles, the scale of the power battery industry is not as good as China's, and in the field of electric vehicles, it may be even more unable to catch up with China's pace.
epilogue
There are likely to be two sides to a thing in itself.
In fact, some European and American countries, led by the United States, have always been very dissatisfied with China's increasingly powerful changes, and sometimes they do not hesitate to take advantage of some of their own interests to curb China's development in various industries.
This time, new regulations have been introduced to set the threshold for the recycling of used batteries, which may suddenly look bad for China, which has established itself on the basis of exports.
But perhaps this is also an opportunity for China to find a new direction under the hindrance of others, and do a better job of recycling waste batteries.
Resources:
Lao Niu Reading Talk2024-05-08 "New EU Regulations: Scrapped Batteries Need to Be Shipped Back to the Country of Production!" Unexpectedly, it helped China unify the tram market》
Zhitong Finance & Economics2024-03-27"EVTank: The actual recycling volume of lithium-ion batteries in China in 2023 will be 623,000 tons, and the nominal capacity utilization rate of the whole industry will only be 16.4%"
Titanium Media APP2024-01-24 "China's Lithium Battery Goes to Sea, Riding the Wind and Waves in the Adverse Current"