The construction of power lithium battery recycling channels has entered a critical period, high cost and weak economy have become a pain point in the industry
While the new energy vehicle industry is prospering and developing, the issue of power battery recycling has also become the focus of the industry. After several years of development, the mass scrapping period of new energy vehicles is approaching. If a large number of retired batteries cannot be properly recycled and utilized, it will not only lead to waste of resources, but also bring about problems such as environmental pollution.
"With the establishment of the production responsibility extension system with vehicle enterprises as the main body, the power battery recycling industry has entered a critical period of channel construction." Huang Jianzhong, former deputy inspector of the Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Secretary General of China Electronics Energy Saving Technology Association On April 17, at the 7th Automotive Power Battery Recycling and Regeneration and Secondary Battery Recycling and Regeneration Technology Seminar, it was stated that the design and production of power batteries in my country and the recycling, disposal and comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries are currently in urgent need of support and regulation. preliminary stage of development.
Industry pain points: high cost, weak economy
The retirement period for new energy passenger vehicles is usually 5 years, and for passenger cars and commercial vehicles it is 3 years. Before 2022, the retired batteries will be dominated by lithium iron phosphate batteries. After 2022, the number of retired ternary batteries will be the same as that of lithium iron phosphate, and will gradually surpass them. The theoretical decommissioning capacity of power batteries in 2018 is expected to be 5.14GWh, and the source of decommissioning is mainly new energy buses.
The reporter learned that the companies that have deployed related businesses are mainly divided into five categories: traditional recycling companies, emerging recycling companies, battery pack factories, battery material companies and vehicle manufacturers.
Different types of businesses have different advantages and disadvantages. For example, traditional recycling companies have relatively advantages in recycling channels, material regeneration technology, battery crushing technology and smelting technology, but due to their own lack of power battery sources, they still need to cooperate with OEMs and scrap plants. The advantages of emerging recycling companies are mainly reflected in battery crushing and dismantling technologies.
At present, the treatment methods of waste power batteries mainly include pyrometallurgy technology and hydrometallurgy technology. Wang Haibei, director of the Metallurgical Research and Design Institute of Beijing Mining and Metallurgy Technology Group Co., Ltd., said that the smelting process of the existing technology is very complicated and difficult.
"The smooth operation of the recycling system needs to be based on profit. If there is no profit drive, the enthusiasm of enterprises cannot be fully improved." Wang Haibei said frankly, "The existing investment in recycling technology and the construction of recycling outlets are very large, although many enterprises have deployed Test the water, but few companies have dug a large pot of gold."
It cannot be ignored that toxic electrolytes and harmful gases will be generated during the battery recycling process, which will cause great harm to the environment and human health if not handled properly. "Some companies use high-temperature heating or combustion in the processing process, and the lack of strict control can easily endanger the health of workers." Ming Yuebin, general manager of Harbin Batterui Resource Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. pointed out.
Government companies join forces to seek breakthrough
In response to the above problems, relevant state departments have issued a series of industrial policies to guide and regulate the power battery recycling industry.
In February this year, seven ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles", clarifying that automobile manufacturers assume the main responsibility for power battery recycling. In March, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other seven ministries and commissions jointly issued the "Notice on Organizing the Pilot Work of Recycling and Utilizing New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries", proposing to select some regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and central regions to carry out power battery recycling and utilization. The pilot, with the pilot as the center, radiates to the surrounding areas.
"The issuance of the above notice indicates that my country's recycling policy system is gradually being established." Yang Qingyu believes that "with the continuous breakthrough of related technologies, the speed of policy release will be accelerated, and relevant standards are expected to be released this year."
The participants believed that there are considerable differences in the battery type, battery capacity and voltage platform of new energy vehicles at present, which is the first hurdle for the cascade utilization of power batteries. Therefore, how to scientifically evaluate retired batteries has also become a decision on where to go. "The first pass.
"The evaluation process of retired batteries is mainly to upload the collected online and offline data to the monitoring platform at the same time, so as to analyze and process the battery pack and evaluate the performance." Fei, technical director of Beijing Jiangxin Battery Technology Co., Ltd. pointed out that from the evaluation As a result, the value of cascade utilization of ternary batteries is greater than that of direct dismantling.
According to reports, after the retired battery has passed the evaluation, the cascade utilization link can be carried out to help the energy storage system improve the overall economy and maximize the cycle life of lithium batteries. At present, many enterprises have carried out demonstration projects of cascade utilization.
Zhang Bu, Vice President of Marketing of Shanghai Xida New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. told reporters: "It was originally predicted that the decay rate of battery cascade utilization was 3%-5%, but from the actual operation of the project, except for the cold months, most of the battery The discharge data showed no decay, even lower than the decay rate of a new battery."
For the treatment of toxic gases, Ming Yuebin believes that pipeline machinery can be used to crush the batteries and modules as a whole, recover the electrolyte as a whole, and use separation technology to separate materials, positive and negative powders, so as to obtain the final metal casing. "Because the diaphragm is completely recycled, it doesn't turn into a harmful gas," she added.
In-depth cooperation to polish the industrial chain
It is understood that the power battery recycling system involves many stakeholders such as car companies, battery manufacturers, battery recycling companies, etc. The chain is long, and there are still many difficulties in the actual operation process.
In this regard, Xie Shaozhong, general manager of Jiangxi Ganfeng Recycling Technology Co., Ltd., gave a suggestion: "All links in the industrial chain need to be run in, but the overall principle should be 'professional people do professional things'. For example, auto companies should set up recycling channels, recycling After that, it will be handed over to comprehensive utilization enterprises for professional processing, and all links of the industrial chain will cooperate in depth."
It is reported that a number of companies have deployed power battery recycling in this blue ocean:
At the end of 2017, BAIC BJEV released the "Optimus Prime Plan": by 2022, it is expected to invest 10 billion yuan to build 3,000 optical storage and replacement power stations across the country, with a total of 500,000 battery-swappable vehicles and echelon energy storage batteries. Utilize more than 5GWh.
In January 2018, China Tower Corporation and 16 companies including Sound Group signed a strategic partnership agreement for the recycling of new energy vehicle power batteries. China Tower Company will use the power battery retired from the pure electric bus, after testing, sorting and reorganization, to replace the lead-acid battery for the communication base station energy backup.
"Both car companies and power battery companies are striving to implement the advanced concept of extended producer responsibility. I hope that all participants can explore the establishment of power battery recycling suitable for the characteristics of industries, enterprises and products from the perspective of undertaking corporate social responsibility. Huang Jianzhong pointed out, "If the finishing touch of the power battery is the cascade utilization and resource disposal, then the establishment of the recycling mode and mechanism will be its magic touch."
