The opportunity period for the power lithium battery recycling industry is coming
The first batch of new energy vehicle power batteries put into the market in my country will soon usher in a centralized scrapping period. According to data released by market research institutions, in 2016, the scrapped power battery in my country was about 12,000 tons, and by 2020, this number is expected to surge to about 248,000 tons. The centralized "retirement" of used power batteries has brought a window of opportunity to the recycling industry.
However, it is not easy to realize this "benefit". Immature technology, non-standard processing, and inadequate supervision may erode development dividends. It is imperative to establish a mature and efficient recycling system.
"Scrap wave" brings opportunities for power battery recycling industry
The Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Commission announced that, in addition to retaining some non-pure electric vehicles as emergency transport capacity, all the city's franchised public transport vehicles have been fully electric. By 2020, Shenzhen will also achieve 100% electrification of taxis.
This is a microcosm of my country's move towards a big country in the production and sales of new energy vehicles. Since 2014, my country's new energy vehicle market has shown a rapid development trend. As of the end of 2017, the number of new energy vehicles in the country reached 1.53 million.
However, another fact worthy of attention is that the on-board power battery will usher in a centralized scrapping period in the next few years. "Our analysis believes that after 2018, the scale of domestic retired power batteries will increase rapidly." said Bai Min, an assistant researcher at the International Economic and Technical Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The recycling of waste power batteries is of great significance: on the one hand, it can improve the level of recycling of battery raw materials, and on the other hand, it can avoid the potential harm caused by waste power batteries to humans and the environment.
A person in charge of a new energy vehicle manufacturing company told reporters that, unlike lead-acid batteries that contain heavy metals and are toxic and harmful in the past, lithium batteries commonly used in new energy vehicles are relatively less harmful to the environment. Copper, cobalt, lithium and other metals in batteries have higher economic value. Under the regulation of the market mechanism, waste power batteries will be favored by recycling companies. "Lithium batteries are full of treasures, and I'm not afraid that no one will handle them."
"Economic accounts" cannot be simply calculated, beware that industrial opportunities become social problems
——Immature industrialization technology squeezes profit space. Zhang Changling, a senior engineer at China Automotive Technology Research Center, believes that at present, key technologies such as power battery retirement judgment standards and detection technology, residual value evaluation technology of batteries that can be used in cascade, automatic dismantling of single battery and material sorting technology are not mature enough. Battery recycling companies still use manual dismantling or traditional recycling processes. According to estimates, a power battery recycling enterprise using traditional technology, recycling 1 ton of waste lithium iron phosphate power battery is not only unprofitable, but may lose money.
- Improper handling of lithium batteries has the risk of explosion and pollution. Zhang Zheming, an assistant researcher at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that lithium batteries are relatively environmentally friendly, but that does not mean that they will not cause harm to the human body and the environment during processing. When the battery is depleted to a certain extent or after a collision during transportation, a short circuit may occur, which may easily cause the battery to explode.
——The flow of some batteries lacks supervision, which can easily lead to "bad money drives out good money". Information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that since 2015, China Tower Corporation has built 57 decommissioned battery cascade utilization test sites in 9 provinces and cities including Heilongjiang and Tianjin. Various usage scenarios such as backup power, peak shaving and valley filling, and microgrid. However, Bai Min reminded that some used power batteries may also flow to informal recycling companies. Through simple dismantling, these companies resell some of the batteries to users in other fields, such as low-speed electric vehicles and electric toy manufacturers.
It is imperative to establish a mature and efficient recycling system
First, speed up the formulation of more detailed and detailed industry standards. On December 1, 2017, the "Vehicle Power Battery Recycling and Dismantling Specifications" was implemented, and another important standard "Vehicle Power Battery Recycling and Utilization Residual Energy Testing" was also implemented on February 1, 2018. However, some details still haunt related companies, and experts have called for more detailed standards. Research shows that, taking the transportation of used batteries as an example, if the transportation is carried out according to the standard of hazardous waste, it will not only take a long time for approval for inter-provincial transportation, but also require special vehicles for transportation, and the cost will increase exponentially.
Secondly, the professional recycling enterprise alliance takes the lead to further integrate the recycling network. Battery recycling involves multiple links such as consumers, dealers, and car companies, and requires a lot of human and material resources. If different companies establish their own recycling systems, it will cause duplication of construction and affect recycling efficiency. Experts such as Zhang Zheming and Bai Min all suggested that, on the premise that producers assume extended responsibilities, they should mainly rely on professional waste battery recycling and processing enterprises, and establish a national unified recycling network led by widely recognized associations and alliances.
Third, establish a battery code traceability system to strengthen the supervision of violations. Ge Jianping, an associate professor at the School of Humanities, Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences (Beijing) suggested that a mandatory standard for power battery coding should be established as soon as possible, and a power battery database should be established. The departments of industry and information technology, industry and commerce, and environmental protection should form a joint supervision force, and resolutely punish small workshops that illegally recycle and dispose of power batteries.
