Currently, my country's new energy vehicle industry is experiencing explosive growth, and the earlier batch of power batteries has already entered their retirement period. Public data shows that in 2020, the cumulative amount of retired power batteries in my country was approximately 200,000 tons, and in five years the cumulative amount will reach 780,000 tons. In ten years, this will give rise to a blue ocean market worth hundreds of billions of yuan.
However, the battery recycling market still needs development. According to surveys, each type of battery has different recycling methods, and lithium-ion batteries, which are experiencing explosive growth, still face the challenge of difficult formal recycling.
Industry experts explain that the electrolyte in power batteries contains highly toxic substances such as lithium hexafluorophosphate and volatile compounds. Improper handling could lead to a large number of retired batteries causing adverse environmental impacts. Furthermore, improper dismantling procedures can pose safety hazards such as combustion, explosion, electric shock, and corrosion.
It is worth noting that since my country's early new energy vehicle power batteries were mainly lithium iron phosphate batteries, most of the batteries that are now being retired are lithium iron phosphate batteries. However, starting from 2022, ternary lithium batteries will also begin to be retired.
The difficulties in battery recycling mainly lie in the following three aspects:
First, it is difficult to estimate the standard for measuring the residual value of batteries: During the cycle of charging and discharging, the capacity of a power battery gradually decreases, reaching a state of retirement when it falls below 80%. Currently, there are many definitions of the State of Health (SOH) of power batteries, including those based on capacity decay, remaining discharge capacity, remaining cycle count, and internal resistance. Therefore, policymakers face certain difficulties in establishing a standard for measuring the remaining residual value of power batteries.
Secondly, fluctuations in metal prices affect the economic viability of material recycling: fluctuations in metal prices ultimately determine the profit and loss of the power battery recycling market. Metal prices are influenced by a combination of factors, including resource supply, technological progress, and downstream markets, and are subject to technological and production cycles. Therefore, metal prices are a decisive factor driving the power battery recycling market, affecting both the business model of power batteries and the effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation.
Thirdly, there are technical standards for secondary use: Secondary use is an important way to recycle lithium iron phosphate batteries. However, factors such as secondary use methods and safety are hindering the formulation of standards. If the standards are too high, the secondary use market will shrink, while if the standards are too low, it will not be conducive to the long-term development of the secondary use market.
