Power battery recovery is still a problem as the retirement period approaches

According to the cycle of new energy vehicles and the market process of new energy vehicles in China, this year will be the year when new energy vehicle power batteries will be recycled. In the scrap recycling process of power batteries, neither terraced use nor raw material recovery treatment needs the support of the recovery body, but at present, the reality is not ideal.

On the one hand, the main body of power battery recovery is still in a state of absence, and related management has not been in place in time; On the other hand, existing recycling companies have to seek other businesses because they are "not enough to eat." What kind of market test is the main body of power battery recycling going through? How should the future evolve? The reporter investigated the matter.

Power battery recovery body is not yet in place.

Although the peak of end-of-life recycling of power cells has not yet arrived, the earliest demonstration vehicles have entered the end-of-life recycling phase.

In accordance with the characteristics of power cell and following the principle of recycling, China currently advocates the principle of using the first step of retired power battery for recycling, and requires the whole vehicle company to take responsibility for power battery recovery as the main body of power battery recovery. However, since most of the vehicle companies are only "assembly plants" for electric vehicles, and batteries are provided by specialized battery companies, there is a phenomenon in which three types of main bodies of power battery recovery coexist:

The first type is the vehicle company;

The second type is battery manufacturing enterprises;

The third category is power battery scrap recycling enterprises and raw materials enterprises.

"Only the vehicle company as the main body can ensure that all power batteries can go to formal recycling channels and avoid flowing into the black market like lead-acid batteries. As a scrapping recycling enterprise at the end of the end-of-life recycling of power batteries, Ganzhou Haopeng, general manager of Jiangxi Province, believes that the vehicle company must be the first responsible entity to ensure that the power battery enters the regular recycling channel, thereby improving its life cycle. Utilization efficiency. At present, in the power battery recycling, Beiqi New Energy and BYD as China's earlier enterprises engaged in the demonstration and promotion of new energy vehicles have already taken action.

"We have made many attempts to recycle decommissioned power cells. Not only has the power-changing mode been introduced, but the ‘Optimus Prime Plan’ has also been proposed, and the decommissioned power battery has been used in the same way as the optical storage power station. In addition, a power cell reuse company has also been set up to specialize in the recycling of decommissioned power cells. In an interview, the person in charge of Beiqi New Energy said that Beiqi New Energy Co., Ltd. established Beijing Artisan Battery Technology Co., Ltd. in Beijing as early as 2016 in conjunction with Henan Xinxiang Battery Research Institute, and is committed to power battery echelon utilization and new system. Core development and exploration of new business models.

BYD has set up a power battery recovery point in the 4S store. "We rely on BYD 4S stores to temporarily collect and temporarily store used power batteries, and then uniformly recycle them to BYD recycling points, and recycle batteries of different states to the corresponding factories for treatment. Among them, we define the taxi as a large customer, maintenance, repair, etc. have a special concentration point, and the concentration point also has the responsibility of battery storage. "BYD related person in charge introduced.

In addition to vehicle manufacturers, battery manufacturers have also actively explored this. Ningde era, AVIC Lithium, BAK Battery, Guoxuan Hi-Tech and other companies have established battery recycling networks, began to deploy power battery recycling business, and launched for recycling batteries. Ladder utilization or scrap recycling.

In addition, independent battery scrap recycling companies are actively engaged in the relevant layout. According to Hancheng, last year, the recycling of lithium batteries was 6,000 tons, including 200 tons of vehicle power batteries. Since the beginning of this year, with the increase in the scale of the power battery scrap recycling market, the business volume related to scrap recycling enterprises has not been greatly improved.

"In our company, for example, the business volume of B-class battery (second-utilized power battery) in the first quarter of this year is almost the business volume of last year." Mr. Liu, a business person of a battery trading company in Shenzhen, told reporters that he was affected by the market demand. Affected by factors such as fluctuations, the market for secondary use of power batteries did show a small peak at the beginning of this year. "Our power battery processing capacity in the first quarter is close to 100 tons, almost half of the business volume last year." Qu Hancheng also said.

However, according to the reporter's understanding, in general, the current large-scale waste reporting period of power batteries has not yet arrived, and the power battery dismantling and recycling is still difficult to form a large-scale effect. Most of the recycling bodies are still in a state of "insufficient food". In addition, although there are various types of recovery bodies in the market at present, it is still a "glass of water" compared to the total number of end-of-life power batteries that are about to enter the market. In general, the recovery body is still in a state of absence.

Management vacancy leads to "late return qualification"

In addition to the lack of recycling subject and "food is not enough" problem, the reporter also found in the investigation, the existing recycling body also faced with unqualified embarrassment. Although the existing recyclers on the market have begun to cut into the power battery recycling business, in fact, they have not obtained the "identity card" to carry out this business.

The survey understands that according to the formal operating process, the recycling body needs the approval of the relevant departments to carry out the end-of-life recycling business of power batteries, but there is currently no official list published. Including companies such as greenmail and Ganzhou Haopeng interviewed by reporters, although they have carried out the scrap recycling business of power batteries, they do not have relevant qualifications. At present, the qualifications they have are only the qualifications for the recycling of lead-acid batteries, not the qualifications for power batteries.

"As far as we know, the approval of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the qualifications of power battery scrap recycling companies has not yet been determined. The qualifications of the relevant companies have been submitted for more than a year, but they have not been approved. "The relevant person in charge of a scrapping recycling company told the" China Automobile News "reporter.

At the same time, it is not clear whether the recycling(not scrap) echelon of power batteries needs special qualifications, but the reality is that the vehicle companies, battery manufacturers, and battery trading companies are all engaged in related business. "There is a saying that secondary recycling batteries also require qualification approval by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, but there is no explicit provision on what conditions to meet and how to apply. There are still many blind spots in the recycling field of power batteries, and the ladder utilization projects that have been promoted are also mostly Pilot projects. "The above-mentioned person in charge told the reporter.

Zhang Jian, a senior researcher at the research and consulting Department of the China 100 Electric Vehicle Association, also said in an interview that there is indeed a lack of management regulations in the scrapping and recycling of power batteries. The Interim Measures for the Management of the Recovery and Utilization of New Energy Vehicle power battery stipulates relevant technologies and standards, but implementation rules still need to be formulated.

Power battery recovery requires joint operations.

The scale has not yet reached, and management is still missing, but it still has not reduced the enthusiasm of all parties. Here is a consensus in the industry that by 2020 there will be a period of massive growth in end-of-life recycling of power cells. That is why, in addition to car companies, battery companies and raw-material recycling companies, capital is now moving aggressively into the sector, and they are also looking for new opportunities in the sector, he said.

In particular, some powerful companies are still expanding the industrial chain and extending downstream to power battery recycling. However, although the enthusiasm of the outside world is high, from the perspective of the development of the industry itself, which model can more effectively promote the recycling and reuse of power cells still needs to be explored.

Some experts said that in the current development trend, joint operations may be the most effective model for the end-of-life recycling of power cells, and it is also a model that all recovery entities are exploring.

For example, BYD has achieved the construction of a recycling chain within the internal system: through the Baolong factory and the distributor, the acquisition, testing, and reuse of decommissioned power cells are completed. The dismantling and recycling of used battery materials are carried out through Huizhou Material Factory in Guangdong Province;

In the Ningde era, as early as 2015, through its subsidiary Ningde and Sheng, it obtained control of Guangdong Bangpu, which is mainly engaged in the dismantling of used lithium batteries, and incorporated it into the merger scope to carry out power battery scrap recycling business;

Grimm built a city-centered power battery recycling and dismantling system, and cooperated with more than 20 companies such as BYD and SAIC Volkswagen to promote the construction of a power battery recycling industry chain; Oriental Seiko cooperates with Beiqi Group and Ningde Times to carry out business strategies such as power battery research and development, manufacturing, recycling, and echelon utilization.

According to Yuhaijun, vice president and general manager of the automotive recycling business, most vehicle factories and battery factories have problems such as lack of experience, lack of professional ability, and no specialized processing equipment for battery recovery during the power battery recovery process. "The power battery recycling industry is only a micro-profit industry compared to the entire vehicle and battery industry. Therefore, most vehicle factories and battery companies will choose to cooperate with third-party professional recycling agencies such as Bangpu to carry out professional recycling of used batteries.. "

As Yuhaijun says, scrap recycling of power cells still needs professional people to push forward. At present, it is better for all parties to jointly attack the issue under the premise that the car company is ordered to assume the responsibility of the main body of scrap recycling of power batteries.

Mr. Zhang also said that no matter what kind of recycling body or mode of operation, there was a need to further explore a commercially dynamic business model to ensure that end-of-life recycling of power cells moved into the normal market path.

The person in charge of Beiqi New Energy also stated that due to the lack of business model innovation, it is difficult to launch a sustainable power battery recycling model. It is necessary for industries and enterprises to carry out innovative business model trials based on technical and economic analysis and evaluation, and after accumulating experience, To promote the value of the circular economic development model to replicate, avoid a rush.

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