Power battery retirement period is approaching, and the main body of power battery recycling is not in place yet

In accordance with the life cycle of new energy vehicles and the marketization of new energy vehicles in China, this year will be the year when large-scale scrapping of new energy vehicles will be resumed. In the process of scrapping and recycling the power battery, both the use of the ladder and the recycling of the raw materials require the support of the main body. However, the current situation is not satisfactory. On the one hand, the main body of power battery recycling is still in a state of vacancy, and related management has not been put in place in time; on the other hand, some recycling companies have to seek other businesses because they are not eating enough. What kind of market test is the power battery recycling subject undergoing? How should the future develop? The China Auto News reporter conducted an investigation.

Power battery recycling main body is not in place

Although the peak period of power battery scrap recovery has not yet arrived, before this, the earliest demonstration vehicles have entered the scrap recycling stage.

In accordance with the characteristics of the power battery, following the principle of recycling, China currently advocates the principle of retiring the power battery for the first step and then recycling it, and requires the vehicle enterprise to take the responsibility of recycling the power battery. However, since most of the vehicle manufacturers are only the “assembly plants” of electric vehicles, and the batteries are provided by specialized battery companies, there are phenomena of coexistence of three types of power battery recycling: the first category is the whole vehicle enterprise; The second category is battery manufacturers; the third category is power battery scrap recycling enterprises and raw material enterprises.

“Only the whole vehicle enterprise as the main body can ensure that all power batteries can go to the formal recycling channel and avoid the black market like lead-acid batteries.” As a waste recycling enterprise for the end of the recycling of power batteries, Jiangxi Ganzhou Haopeng Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager Han Cheng believes that the vehicle company must be the first responsible body to ensure that the power battery enters the formal recycling channel, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of its entire life cycle. At present, in terms of power battery recycling, BAIC New Energy and BYD have already acted as early-stage enterprises engaged in the demonstration and promotion of new energy vehicles in China.

"We have made many attempts in the recycling of decommissioned power batteries. We have not only introduced the power-exchange mode, but also proposed the 'Qingtianzhu Plan', which uses the depleted power battery in the way of the optical storage power station. In addition, it has also been set up specifically. The power battery recycling company specializes in the recycling of decommissioned power batteries.” The person in charge of Beiqi New Energy said in an interview with China Automotive News that BAIC New Energy was established in Beijing in 2016 as the joint venture of Henan Xinxiang Battery Research Institute in Beijing. Beijing Art Core Battery Technology Co., Ltd. is committed to the use of power battery ladders, the development of new system batteries and the exploration of new business models.

BYD has set up a power battery recycling point in the 4S store. ""We rely on BYD 4S store to temporarily collect and store used power batteries, and then uniformly recycle them to BYD recycling point, and recycle batteries in different states to the corresponding factory for processing. Among them, we define taxis as large customers, maintenance, maintenance, etc. have a special concentration point, while the concentration point has the responsibility of battery temporary storage." BYD related person in charge.

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." District Han Cheng also said.

However, according to the reporter, overall, the current large-scale scrapping period of power batteries has not yet arrived, and the power battery dismantling and recycling is still difficult to form a scale effect, and most of the recycling entities are still in a state of “not eating enough”. In addition, although there are various types of recycling entities in the market, compared with the total amount of scrapped power batteries that are about to enter the market, it is still a “cup of water”. In general, the recycling subject is still in a state of vacancy.

Management vacancy is responsible for recycling qualifications "late"

In addition to the lack of recycling subjects and the problem of “not enough to eat”, the reporter also found that the existing recycling entities still face unqualified embarrassing situations. Although the existing recycling entities 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.

According to the investigation of China Auto News, according to the formal operation process, the recycling and recycling business of the power battery needs to be approved by the relevant departments, but there is no official list. Including Gelinmei and Ganzhou Haopeng, which were interviewed by reporters, although they have carried out the waste recycling business of power batteries, they have no relevant qualifications. The current qualifications are only the recycling and processing qualification of lead-acid batteries, not the qualification of power battery processing.

"According to our understanding, the approval of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the qualification of power battery scrap recycling enterprises has not yet been determined. The application for qualification of related enterprises has been submitted for more than a year, but it has not been approved." The person in charge of a scrap recycling enterprise told the Chinese car Newspaper reporter.

At the same time, it is still unclear whether the use of power batteries for recycling (not scrapping) the use of enterprises requires special qualifications, but the reality is that vehicle companies, battery manufacturers, and battery trading companies are carrying out related businesses. "There is a saying that the secondary recycling battery also requires the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to carry out qualification approval. However, there are no clear rules on what conditions to be met and how to apply. There are still many blind spots in the recycling of power batteries. The advanced utilization projects have been piloted. Project." The person in charge told the reporter. Jian Zhang, a senior researcher at the China Electric Vehicle Research and Consulting Department, said in an interview with China Automotive News that there is still a lack of certain management regulations in the scrap recycling of power batteries, and the Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of New Energy Vehicles "The relevant technologies, standards and other aspects have been stipulated, but the implementation rules still need to be formulated.

Power battery recycling also requires joint operations

The scale has not yet arrived, and management is still lacking, but it still has not reduced the enthusiasm of all parties. “The industry generally believes that by 2020, the recycling of power batteries will surely usher in a large-scale growth period.” Hancheng said that this is also the reason why the capital has also entered the field in addition to car companies, battery companies and raw material recycling companies. They are also seeking new opportunities in this area. In particular, some powerful companies continue to expand the industrial chain and extend downstream to the recycling of power batteries. However, although the external enthusiasm is very high, from the perspective of the development of the industry itself, what kind of model can more effectively promote the recycling and reuse of power batteries still needs to be explored.

Some experts said that in the current development situation, joint operations may be the most effective mode for recycling of power batteries, and it is also a model that all recycling entities are exploring. For example, BYD has realized the construction of the recycling chain in the internal system: through the cooperation between the Baolong factory and the dealers, the acquisition, detection and reuse of the decommissioned power battery are completed. The dismantling and recycling of used battery materials was carried out through the Huizhou Materials Factory in Guangdong. The Ningde era passed the subsidiary Ningde Hesheng in 2015, and obtained the control of Guangdong Bangpu, which was dismantled from the waste lithium battery. Incorporate the scope of consolidation, carry out power battery scrap recycling business; GEM has 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 power battery recycling industry chain; Strategic cooperation with BAIC Group and Ningde Times for power battery R&D, manufacturing, recycling, and cascade utilization.

Haijun Yu, vice president of the Bangpu Group and general manager of the Automotive Recycling Division, believes that most automakers and battery plants have problems in the process of power battery recycling, lack of professional capabilities, and no professional equipment for battery recycling. “The power battery recycling industry is only a small profit industry compared with the vehicle and battery industries. Therefore, most OEMs and battery companies will choose to cooperate with third-party professional recycling agencies such as Bump to carry out waste batteries professional recycling" As Haijun Yu said, the recycling of power batteries still needs professional people to promote, and currently, under the premise that the car companies are ordered to bear the responsibility of the power battery scrap recycling main body, the joint research is better choice.

Bin Zhang also said that no matter what kind of recycling subject and what mode of operation, it is necessary to further explore the business model with market vitality, in order to ensure that the recycling of power battery into the normal market-oriented development track. The person in charge of Beiqi New Energy also said that due to the lack of business model innovation, the sustainable power battery recycling model is difficult to start. It requires the industry and enterprises to carry out innovative business model pilots based on technical and economic analysis and evaluation. After accumulating experience, the circular economy development model with popularizing value should be duplicated to avoid rushing.

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