FILE PHOTO: A Nissan Leaf EV car and portable battery on display at Nissan Gallery in Yokohama, Japan November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Androniki Christodoulou/File Photo
BEIJING: The Industry and Information Technology Ministry has recently started soliciting public opinion on a revised industry standard for the recycling and disposal of electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The revision covers the whole industry chain of the fast-growing business and aims to standardise and strengthen supervision of relevant practices that vary in different places.
Data show that in 2023, the total amount of retired EV batteries in China exceeded 580,000 tonnes.
It is estimated that by 2030, the scale of the battery recycling market will exceed 100 billion yuan.
EV batteries include certain components containing harmful chemicals.
If they can be recycled and utilised properly, not only will dangerous pollution be avoided but it will also save tremendous amounts of raw materials and resources.
The number of EVs on Chinese roads has been increasing rapidly since 2016.
As the service life of the batteries ranges from five to eight years, the country is facing the first wave of EV battery retirement.
But the battery recycling industry is still in its infancy.
Statistics show that only one-quarter of used EV batteries are now properly recycled.
Although there exist dozens of standards in the industry, they are either outdated or weakly enforced.
The newly revised document is expected to change that situation and serve as a compulsory national standard for the industry.
Upstream and downstream enterprises of the EV battery industry also need to strengthen their collaboration and explore new business models to ensure that discarded batteries become a valuable source of reusable materials. — China Daily/ANN
