Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published an article on its website stating that my country Tower Corporation has announced it will stop purchasing lead-acid batteries and switch to purchasing lithium batteries.
What does this mean? First, let me explain: China Tower provides communication base station construction and operation services to the three major telecom operators. To ensure the continuous operation of these communication towers, backup power is needed. Previously, lead-acid batteries were the primary source of this backup power. China Tower purchased approximately 100,000 tons of lead-acid batteries annually, which is a substantial amount. However, lead-acid batteries have several drawbacks, such as short lifespan, low performance, and the presence of high levels of the heavy metal lead. Improper disposal after use can easily cause secondary pollution to the environment.
Therefore, starting in 2015, in addition to purchasing new lithium batteries, China Tower Corporation has been conducting trials of replacing lead-acid batteries with second-hand batteries in more than 3,000 base stations across 12 provinces and municipalities. By the end of 2018, approximately 1.5 GWh of second-hand batteries had been used in about 120,000 base stations in 31 provinces and municipalities across the country, replacing approximately 45,000 tons of lead-acid batteries.
The secondary batteries used by China Tower are mainly the power batteries discarded from new energy vehicles.
To clarify, when the capacity of a new energy vehicle's power battery drops below 80%, the car can no longer run normally. However, this same battery can fully support the operation of communication towers, as well as other applications such as energy storage.
Moreover, if these power batteries are not properly disposed of, they pose significant risks. Aside from environmental pollution, they also present safety hazards such as electric shock, explosion, and corrosion. Furthermore, discarded power batteries contain resources like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, all of which are imported in massive quantities. In fact, my country's import dependence on lithium, nickel, and cobalt reaches 80%, 80%, and 97%, respectively.
More importantly, the scale of new energy vehicles in my country is growing rapidly, resulting in a considerable amount of scrapped power batteries. Here's the data! Currently, my country's cumulative production of new energy vehicles has exceeded 2.8 million units, ranking first in the world in terms of promotion scale. Similarly, my country's cumulative installed capacity of power batteries exceeds 900,000 tons, placing the industry among the top in scale.
So, how many power batteries are scrapped? This brings us to the "Ten Cities, Thousand Vehicles Project." In 2009, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly launched the "Ten Cities, Thousand Vehicles Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicle Demonstration and Promotion Project" to promote the development of new energy vehicles. The plan was to develop 10 cities annually over approximately three years, with each city deploying 1,000 new energy vehicles for demonstration operation, covering public transportation, taxis, government vehicles, municipal vehicles, and postal services in these large and medium-sized cities. A total of 25 pilot cities were selected over three years.
According to statistics, during the "Ten Cities, Thousand Vehicles Project" promotion period, a total of about 12,600 tons of power batteries for new energy vehicles were retired, of which lithium iron phosphate batteries accounted for about 95.6%. The retired batteries were mainly concentrated in cities such as Shenzhen, Hefei, and Beijing, where the promotion of new energy vehicles was more extensive.
Are retired power batteries any good? This has been extensively verified. Not only China Tower, but State Grid has also built demonstration sites in Daxing and Zhangbei, Beijing. BAIC and new energy battery companies have collaborated on energy storage power station projects and containerized energy storage projects. Companies like Shenzhen BYD and Guoxuan High-Tech are utilizing retired power batteries to produce second-hand batteries for backup power. Wuxi GEM and SF Express are exploring the use of second-hand batteries in urban logistics vehicles, while companies like Zhongtian Hongli are promoting the application of second-hand batteries in sanitation and sightseeing vehicles through a "lease-to-own" model.
In fact, the waste battery recycling industry has already reached a certain scale, with more than 15 recycling companies already established or under construction. Most of them have evolved from waste electrical and electronic product processing companies and non-ferrous metal smelting companies, and are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and small and medium-sized cities in the central region with corresponding industrial bases.
To regulate this industry, relevant departments are working to establish a power battery recycling system and have launched a national monitoring platform for new energy vehicles and a comprehensive management platform for the traceability of power battery recycling and utilization. Currently, 393 automobile manufacturers, 44 end-of-life vehicle recycling and dismantling companies, 37 companies specializing in the reuse of batteries, and 42 recycling companies have joined this national platform.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also designated 17 regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and Shanghai, as well as my country Tower Corporation, to conduct pilot projects for recycling and reuse. 45 companies, including BAIC New Energy and GAC Mitsubishi, have established a total of 3,204 recycling service outlets, mainly concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and other areas in central China with a high number of new energy vehicles.
However, the road ahead will certainly not be smooth sailing. The biggest challenges include overcoming technological bottlenecks in recycling, the lack of a comprehensive recycling system, and difficulties in generating profits from recycling. Therefore, to ensure this initiative is implemented effectively, it is necessary to improve the supporting policy system, introduce diversified incentive measures to allow companies to "taste" the benefits, leverage the role of market players, accelerate the establishment of a sound recycling system, and create a collaborative effort from all parties.
