Briefly on the development trend of the power battery recycling market

Around 2020, the cumulative scrap of power batteries in China can reach 120,000-170,000 tons. The recycling market created by recycling metals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, iron and aluminum from used lithium batteries will exceed 5.3 billion yuan in 2018 and will exceed 10 billion yuan in 2020. The used lithium battery market in 2023 It will reach 25 billion yuan. It can be seen that China's power battery recycling market is very broad.

With a large number of new energy vehicles on the market, the recycling and utilization of used batteries has also attracted widespread attention in the industry. The data shows that domestic power batteries will enter the peak of scrapping around 2020, and the total scrapped amount can reach 120,000-1,700,000 tons. In 2016, the actual dismantling and recycling is less than 10,000 tons. Due to the improper treatment of the cathode material and electrolyte in the power battery, the environment will cause huge pollution. At the same time, China must recycle it to alleviate the serious external dependence on rare metals such as cobalt. Therefore, power battery recycling will become the key to the development of new energy vehicles in China.

In recent years, with the vigorous promotion of relevant national policies, China's new energy automobile industry has ushered in explosive growth and has become the world's largest new energy vehicle market. However, with the introduction of a large number of new energy vehicles into the market, the issue of recycling and utilization of used batteries has also attracted widespread attention in the industry. The data shows that domestic power batteries will enter the peak of scrapping around 2020, and the total scrapped amount can reach 120,000-1,700,000 tons. In 2016, the actual dismantling and recycling is less than 10,000 tons. Due to the improper treatment of the cathode material and electrolyte in the power battery, the environment is greatly polluted. At the same time, China must recycle it to alleviate the serious external dependence on rare metals such as cobalt. Therefore, power battery recycling will become the key to the development of new energy vehicles in China.

The first national standard for power battery recycling

On December 1, the "Code for the Recycling and Utilization of Vehicle power batteries" (hereinafter referred to as "Dismantling Specifications") was officially implemented. This is the first national standard for the recycling of power batteries proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, clearly indicating the recycling. The enterprise should have relevant qualifications to further ensure the safety, environmental protection and efficient recycling of the power battery.

The Dismantling Code has strict requirements on the safety, operation procedures, storage and management of waste power battery recycling, to solve the industrial development problems to a certain extent, and to regulate the recycling and utilization of China's vehicle power batteries, dismantling professional technology and power battery recycling system. According to the reporter's understanding, starting from February 1st, 2018, the new national standard for three power batteries, such as the “Recovery of Residual Energy for Vehicle Power Battery”, will also be officially implemented. As Yu Haijun, vice president of Guangdong Bangpu Cycle Technology Co., Ltd., one of the drafters of the Dismantling Code, said that although the battery recycling industry regulatory standards system is still not perfect, the standard setting work is accelerating. With the establishment of a relatively complete national standard system, the disordered state of power battery recycling and ladder utilization is expected to change.

Recently, the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Equipment Industry Division organized a symposium on the recycling of new energy vehicles' power batteries in Beijing to study and promote the recycling of power batteries for new energy vehicles. Li Li, inspector of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization, said that promoting the recycling of new energy vehicle power batteries is not only conducive to protecting the environment and social security, improving the level of resource recycling, but also conducive to the healthy development of China's new energy vehicle industry. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the relevant departments, has drafted the Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of New Energy Vehicles' Power Battery, organized the pilot implementation plan, developed relevant technical standards, and established the source of recycling of new energy vehicle power batteries. MIS. He stressed that local industrial and information authorities should attach great importance to strengthening overall coordination, and in light of the actual situation in the region, encourage and support automobile manufacturers, battery manufacturers and comprehensive utilization enterprises to strengthen close cooperation and build new energy vehicle power batteries. The recycling system actively promotes the exploration of a highly economical, diversified and replicable recycling model.

Recycling market will enter the peak in 2020

According to the statistics of relevant institutions, around 2020, the cumulative scrap of power batteries in China can reach 120,000-170,000 tons. The recycling market created by recycling metals such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, iron and aluminum from used lithium batteries will exceed 5.3 billion yuan in 2018 and will exceed 10 billion yuan in 2020. The used lithium battery market in 2023 It will reach 25 billion yuan. It can be seen that China's power battery recycling market is very broad.

Although many companies want to recycle car batteries and are trying to profit from recycling used car batteries in various ways, the use of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles uses a variety of different chemical processes, making standardized recycling difficult. At the 5th Lithium Davos Forum held in Shantou in recent days, industry experts and scholars also held different views on the technical route adopted for battery recycling. Huang Hongliang, deputy general manager of the power system division of Huizhou Yiwei Lithium Energy Co., Ltd., said that there are two recycling modes for batteries: one is the use of the ladder, and the other is the raw material for the lithium battery after dismantling. Huang Hongliang believes that the use of the ladder is not realistic. He advocates the recycling of the ternary battery, and extracts raw materials of nickel, cobalt, manganese and even copper and aluminum.

Cai Qiang, deputy general manager of Far East Foster New Energy Co., Ltd., is optimistic about the use of the ladder. “Because the unit price of the products used in the ladder is relatively high, the demand for the energy storage and low-speed electric vehicles is growing rapidly, and the demand for the selected power batteries is very large.” He believes that the battery recovery is relatively large from 2018 to 2020. . However, after 2025, although the overall demand for automotive batteries is increasing, the amount of recycling does not necessarily increase significantly, because the quality of the battery is improving. "The future should not be sustained explosive growth, it should be phased growth."

Tang Yougen, a professor at Central South University, believes that the use of the ladder is only a link or a part of recycling. It cannot be said that after the use of the ladder, it will be thrown away, and finally it will be applied to the dismantling application, and the disassembly application will return to harmless and resourceful. So there is still a breakthrough in recycling technology, turning waste batteries into valuable things.

Yu Hai believes that there are many technical routes for the recycling of power batteries in the world. From a technical point of view, there is no way to completely recycle the batteries, which requires a combination of various processes and various technologies.

In February 2016, the Ministry of Development and Reform and other five ministries and commissions issued the "Technical Policy for Recycling and Utilization of Electric Vehicles for Electric Vehicles (2015 Edition)" (hereinafter referred to as "Technical Policy"), but this is only a guiding document and there is no punitive provision. According to relevant sources, at present, China's electric vehicle power battery storage is still relatively small, and the relevant recycling system has not been effectively established. The recycling technology is still not mature, and it is not suitable for mandatory management.

According to the "Technical Policy", in the system, the state encourages enterprises to adopt measures such as deposits, repurchase, and trade-in for power batteries to increase consumers' enthusiasm for returning used power batteries. The state will explore the inclusion of waste power batteries in the scope of the “Recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products”. In terms of incentive measures, the state will support the technology research and development and equipment import of cascade utilization enterprises and recycling enterprises within the existing funding channels, and encourage enterprises to continuously improve their technical level, save resources and protect the environment. In terms of technology research and development, the state supports research and development of power battery-related recycling technologies and equipment, and encourages waste power battery recycling enterprises, cascade utilization enterprises, and recycling enterprises to continuously develop and promote new technologies. In terms of international cooperation, the state will encourage international exchanges and cooperation in the field of electric vehicle power battery recycling, support the joint formulation and coordination of national standards, and support the development of demonstration projects with international advanced levels.

It is recommended that the state establish a clear reward and punishment mechanism

At present, domestic power battery recycling enterprises have outstanding problems such as lack of professionalism, poor safety, low barriers to entry, and irregular dismantling. First, the relevant technical specifications are still not perfect, and the recycling system has not yet been established. Second, the policy is introduced as an incentive policy. The specific recycling requirements are not very clear. In the “Notice on the Financial Support Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles from 2016 to 2020” And the requirements for power battery recycling in the "New Energy Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprises and Product Access Management Rules" are only "the main responsibility of enterprises for the recycling of power batteries", "new energy vehicle manufacturers should establish after-sales service commitments for new energy vehicles. The system includes battery recycling. The third is the lack of power battery recovery and punishment mechanism. At present, due to the limitation of scale, the recycling market has not yet been formed. The economic recovery of power battery is not high. At present, the current policy is not mandatory, and the enthusiasm of enterprises is not high. It is urgent to formulate implementation rules for the incentives for the recycling of power batteries and establish a clear reward and punishment mechanism. Most of the lithium batteries to be recycled at the current stage have no economic value, and the enthusiasm of enterprises for recycling is not high. Yu Hai suggested that the government can provide some support policies at this stage, such as tax incentives and financial subsidies. However, in the long run, it is still necessary to solve through technological advancement. In the future, the country should also introduce corresponding standards. If there is no battery with recycling value, production will not be allowed. He believes that to ensure the orderly and sustainable development of power battery recycling, on the one hand, the implementation of three yards, namely battery code, car VI code and recycling code, entered into the national platform, in order to ensure the flow of batteries from the end of retirement. On the other hand, information disclosure is required. China is adopting a producer responsibility extension system. Most of the battery producers' own waste and trim have their own processing modes. The recovery of power batteries also has this problem. Chain sustainability has had a huge impact.

At present, the state is formulating relevant management measures for the above problems. In the "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of Power Battery for New Energy Vehicles (Draft for Comment), it is the first time that automobile companies, battery companies, and comprehensive utilization enterprises have not been recycled as required. The penalties for the vehicle companies that have not recovered as required will suspend the declaration of new products in the "Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprises and Products Announcement". The industry expects that the temporary management measures are expected to be officially released at the end of December, which will be on the power battery. Recycling plays a positive role.

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