The cascade utilization market will become the mainstream in the field of power lithium battery recycling
Since 2018, the first domestic automotive power batteries to enter the market have begun to usher in a "scraping tide". Data shows that in 2018, the scrap recycling of power batteries will reach 63,900 tons, a year-on-year increase of 129.99%; by 2020, the recycling volume will reach 247,600 tons, and the recycling market will be a tens of billions of scale industries in the future.
Under the tuyere of recycling, there is controversy over whether to recycle or dismantle retired batteries. In view of the fact that there are still many problems in cascade utilization, some voices in the industry even call it a "pseudo proposition". In theory, the cascade utilization of retired batteries can achieve maximum use value and economic benefits. Generally, the service life of power batteries is 5 to 8 years. When the battery capacity decays below 80%, it cannot meet the needs of electric vehicles. However, after testing, maintenance, and reorganization, the retired batteries can be used in cascade in the fields of energy storage, distributed photovoltaic power generation, household electricity, and low-speed electric vehicles.
At present, the power battery that has entered the echelon utilization has reached a service life of 2,000 times, and its performance in the field of energy storage is better than that of lead-carbon batteries. In the field of express logistics, the cascade utilization of power batteries can reduce the cost of use by half. In the field of low-speed electric vehicles, the cascaded use of power lithium batteries has the advantages of longer cycle life and higher energy density than lead-acid batteries.
Industry data show that the scale of the cascade utilization market in 2018 will reach 898 million yuan, while the market size of recycling and dismantling will be 319 million. From the trend point of view, the future cascade utilization will be the mainstream, but there are only a small number of cascade utilization demonstration projects. There are still very few enterprises that use the industrialization of cascade utilization.
With the rising prices of upstream raw materials and the increasing cost pressure of battery companies, it is an inevitable trend to use power batteries in cascade to maximize the utilization of resources. Although there are still many problems, under the situation of favorable policies and broad market development prospects, the cascade utilization of power batteries will not be too far from ushering in the market outbreak.
