On February 21, the State Council Executive Meeting reviewed and passed the "Action Plan for Improving the Recycling and Utilization System of Power Battery in New Energy Vehicles". The meeting pointed out that my country's new energy vehicle power batteries have entered the stage of large-scale decommissioning, and it is particularly important to comprehensively improve the recycling and utilization capacity of power batteries.

How big is the market for power battery recycling?

my country's new energy vehicle batteries have entered the stage of large-scale retirement. So is retired equivalent to scrapping? How to turn old power batteries of new energy vehicles into treasures? First, let’s learn about how big the market size of the power battery recycling is?

In recent years, my country's new energy vehicle industry has developed rapidly. Data shows that as of the end of 2024, my country's new energy vehicle ownership reached 31.4 million, and the number of power batteries installed has been leading the world for many years. As the retirement volume of power batteries increases year by year, its recycling has attracted much attention. A report predicts that by 2030, the market size of the power battery recycling market will exceed 100 billion yuan.

What methods are included in the recycling and utilization of power batteries?

How can such a large-scale "decommissioned" battery be recycled safely and efficiently?

Experts said that the current recycling and utilization of power batteries mainly include two major categories: cascade utilization and recycling. When the battery capacity is attenuated below 80% of the rated capacity, the power battery is not suitable for electric vehicles and needs to be recycled and processed. Among them:

When the battery power is between 50% and 80%, it will be used in a cascade, that is, after dismantling and reorganizing the retired power battery, it will be made into emergency power supplies, energy storage equipment, etc., and will continue to serve.

If the battery capacity attenuates below 40%, disassembly and crush them will be carried out, and metal raw materials such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium in the battery will be extracted, and the new battery will be recycled.

Previously, a reporter from the Central Station visited the production line for dismantling waste new energy vehicles↓↓↓

In the Shanghai Laogang Industrial Park, the reporter came to the first independent intelligent new energy vehicle dismantling line in China. Here, every vehicle will be automatically transported through the slide rail after entering the factory and will be automatically positioned through the sensor.

Shi Shengdong, general manager of Shanghai Xinjinqiao Environmental Protection Automobile Dismantling Branch: After the dismantling of this new energy vehicle is completed, the core part is two parts, one is a lithium battery, and the other is an electronic control system. The entire lithium battery and electronic control system account for more than 50% of the vehicle's dismantling value.

These removed power batteries will be sent to the battery recycling company for resource recycling. Here, the power batteries can be extracted from recycled materials through chemical methods. Among them, the recovery rate of nickel, cobalt and manganese reaches 99.6%, and the recovery rate of lithium reaches 91%. These recycled materials can be remade into the positive electrode material of the power battery and applied to the new battery, truly realizing where the battery resources come from.

Power battery recycling

How to "eat it thoroughly"?

How can we "eat and squeeze out" the recycling of used power batteries? Are there any standards and specifications in this regard? In December last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a new version of the comprehensive utilization industry standards for the waste power batteries of new energy vehicles, improving the recycling and comprehensive utilization system, and promoting safe and efficient recycling.

In the new specification conditions, the focus is on four aspects:

The first is to optimize the technical indicator system. The technical indicators of lithium recovery rate in the smelting process are increased from no less than 85% to no less than 90%, and the recovery rate of electrode powder after crushing and separation is not less than 98%, and the impurity aluminum content is less than 1.5%.

The second is to update and improve the standards and specifications. Added the disassembly and coding standards for waste power batteries for new energy vehicles such as "Car Power Battery Recycling and Disassembly Specifications" and "Car Power Battery Coding Rules".

The third is to add relevant requirements for lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles. It is clear that the cascade-used batteries shall not be used in electric bicycles, and recycling enterprises shall take into account the requirements for handling waste lithium-ion batteries of electric bicycles.

Is it possible to repair the used power batteries?

With the development of technology, is it possible to repair used batteries in the future? It's really possible. Recently, the research team of Fudan University released research results that can provide precise treatment of lithium batteries and regain waste batteries.

In order to deal with problems such as aging and attenuation of lithium batteries, the research team of Fudan University found through research that the "lifetime" of batteries is actually similar to human health, and the problems are often concentrated on a core component, that is, active lithium ions. If the lost lithium ions can be accurately replenished, the battery life time can be greatly extended. Based on this idea, the team developed a lithium carrier molecule like a "drug" that can replenish lithium ions in the battery by injection.

Gao Yue, a member of the research team of Fudan University: Our technology can achieve precise treatment, so that it can return to its initial state after use. For a commercial lithium iron phosphate battery, in the past, its capacity will attenuate and be scrapped after 2,000 times. After we have this technology, we can keep it close to the health of the initial battery after 12,000 times.