Since
the related subsidies were implemented in 2009, China has seen an
increase in the number of alternative energy vehicles (AEVs) sold
annually. In 2023, sales reached 9.50 million units, setting a new
record. However, based on the eight-year service life of power
batteries, about 1.30 million pure electric vehicles (PEVs) were trashed
in 2022. If one were to compute the average battery capacity of each
PEV (60KWh), this would equate to roughly 78GWh of power batteries that
would need to be recycled and processed. In 2024, this number will still
be rising. Because of resource limitations and national regulations for
environmental protection, recycling waste batteries is particularly
crucial. All things considered, the market for battery recycling appears
to have great potential.
In
late Dec. 2023 and early Jan. 2024, four enterprises, ranging from the
sector's upstream to downstream, provided updates on the progress of
their Li-ion battery recycling project.
On 12 Jan., 2024, GEM Co., Ltd. (GEM) announced that its holding subsidiary Wuhan Power Battery Regeneration Technology Co., Ltd. (Wuhan Power) would sign a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with
REPT BATTERO Energy Co, Ltd., whereby the latter would process retired
or used power batteries generated from the affiliate's global supply
chain.
On 10 Jan., 2024, Zhejiang Yinglian Lithium New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and
Rhenus Automotive Group in Germany entered into a cooperation
agreement, regarding a Li-ion battery industrial chain project. The
project includes Li-ion battery recycling and lithium salt production
and processing.
On 3 Jan., 2024, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for Hefei Yuanxin Recycling Technology Co., Ltd.'s 50GWH/a battery recycling project was approved and published.
After construction is finished, the project will have the following capacity:
50GWH/a
utilisation capacity of retired Li-ion batteries (which can process
350,000 t/a of retired LFP batteries and 20,000 t/a of positive and
negative electrode sheets annually)
After
resource utilisation, the retired Li-ion batteries will be used to
produce roughly 170,000 t/a of battery-grade iron phosphate, roughly
27,000 t/a of battery-grade lithium carbonate, and roughly 80,000 t/a of
anhydrous sodium sulphate, along with approximately 66,000 t/a of
graphite, approximately 28,000 t/a of copper and copper powder,
approximately 80,000 t/a of aluminum and aluminum powder, and
approximately 15,000 t/a of positive and negative electrode powders as
by-products
On 27 Dec., 2023, the EIA report of Anhui Jifeng Vehicle Recycling Co., Ltd.'s power battery ladder utilisation & physical regeneration project (phase I) was approved and made public.
The following are project highlights:
New
facilities: pretreatment and testing equipment, dismantling lines for
waste power storage battery packs and modules, a module line and PACK
line for square aluminum shell battery cells, grading and testing
equipment
Ladder utilisation capacity (phase I): 600MWH/a of batteries
A few other power battery recycling projects were either signed or put into action.
The
domestic battery recycling market is still in disarray and is primarily
dominated by small workshops, even though new Li-ion battery recycling
projects are being reported one after another. In Dec. 2023, the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic
of China (MIIT) issued a consultation paper titled Administrative Measures for the Comprehensive Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles.
It specifies the responsibilities of automakers, battery manufacturers,
and echelon utilisation enterprises with regard to the integrated use
of power batteries. Small workshops will be eliminated and the industry
will be regulated in the future due to the growing quantity of retired
batteries and improved industry laws and policies. Meanwhile, the
battery recycling market will keep growing, supporting the sustainable
development of China's new energy sector.