With the continuous development and popularity of new energy vehicles in China, new energy power batteries have entered a large-scale retirement period. It is expected that China's retired power batteries will reach nearly 800000 tons by 2025. The gradual retirement of large-scale power batteries has attracted widespread attention on how to better recycle and utilize them, while also strengthening regulatory measures to avoid causing new resource waste and environmental pollution.
The birth and development of new energy vehicles are largely driven by the need for environmental protection, and also reflect the lifestyle of green transportation. As of the end of 2020, the number of new energy vehicles in China reached 4.92 million, of which 4 million were pure electric vehicles. The increment of new energy vehicles exceeded 1 million for three consecutive years. How to dispose of retired power batteries is a common problem encountered in various regions. At present, there are problems in the cascading utilization of power batteries after recycling, such as relatively single business models, limited usage scale, and low operating efficiency. Further exploration is needed to reduce costs and achieve multi scenario use. It should also be noted that some retired power batteries flow into "black workshops" to make small power banks, or are simply processed to impersonate new batteries, or even extracted from precious metals using soil methods, which poses safety and environmental risks and urgently requires strengthened supervision.
The recycling and utilization of power batteries has attracted widespread attention. This year's Government Work Report proposes to accelerate the construction of a power battery recycling and utilization system. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the second batch of enterprises that meet the industry standards for the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries in new energy vehicles, increasing the number of legitimate recycling enterprises and continuously expanding the lineup to solve the problem of power battery recycling and reuse. As early as 2018, the national monitoring and comprehensive management platform for the recycling and utilization of new energy vehicles and power batteries has been launched, and unified traceability supervision platforms in various regions are also being established and integrated into the national platform to achieve full lifecycle supervision of power batteries. The successive introduction of relevant policy measures has established an institutional framework to address this issue.
To further solve the problem of power battery recycling, it is necessary to work together from multiple parties and take multiple measures, and implement targeted and precise policies in terms of systems, management, technology, and other aspects., To establish a wide coverage recycling system and solve the problem of batteries not being collected. Incorporate power battery recycling industry chain enterprises into the recycling supervision system, build an integrated traceability supervision platform, establish a market-oriented, enterprise led, and government regulated recycling system, and cut off the illegal interest transmission chain from the root. At the same time, strengthen government guided supporting policies. For example, investment support for the research and development of lithium iron phosphate recycling technology, research on suitable subsidy channels and scope; Explore the introduction of a bottom line policy for unmanned recycling and disposal of scrapped batteries in the market; Expand the scale and scenarios of tiered battery usage, encourage tiered battery energy storage systems and base station backup power to participate in power demand side response, and so on.
At present, China's new energy vehicle industry is entering a new stage of accelerated development. To solve the problem of recycling power batteries, we should further leverage the role of market entities, accelerate the innovation of enterprise oriented technological models, and make efforts throughout the entire industry chain, including sales, recycling, reuse, and technology research and development. For example, research and development efforts in areas such as rapid battery detection and classification, ternary lithium battery energy storage technology, and lithium iron phosphate regeneration and utilization technology; Guide enterprises to explore new models of cascading utilization in non electric fields; Encourage the exploration and application of new models such as "separation of vehicles and electricity", battery swapping, battery leasing, and energy service outsourcing in the cascade. At the same time, creating a social atmosphere of universal participation, promoting the environmental safety risks and related policies of waste power batteries, exposing illegal activities, and enhancing the awareness of resource conservation and environmental protection in the whole society.
To travel green, we also need to be green and relatively new. Only by uniting the efforts of multiple parties can we better solve the problem of "where to retire power batteries", promote relevant industries to better comply with new requirements, accelerate technological innovation and industrial transformation, and make important contributions to building a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society.
