Recently, seven departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and the National Energy Administration, jointly issued the "Pilot Implementation Plan for the Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The Plan proposes to select certain regions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the central region to carry out pilot projects for the recycling and utilization of power batteries for new energy vehicles, radiating outwards from the pilot areas to surrounding regions. It also requires that the industry and information technology departments of the relevant pilot areas, in consultation with their corresponding science and technology, environmental protection, transportation, commerce, quality inspection, and energy departments, organize the preparation of their respective pilot implementation plans in accordance with the requirements of the Plan, and submit the application materials to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization) before March 30, 2018. To this end, the seven departments also simultaneously released the "Guidelines for the Preparation of Pilot Implementation Plans for the Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines") to guide local governments in preparing their pilot plans.
The simultaneous release of the "Plan" and the "Guidelines," along with the stipulated timeframes, clearly indicates that policymakers aim to strengthen implementation and ensure the effective execution of the "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles," which was issued at the end of January 2018. The goal is to explore diversified recycling models for used power batteries that are technologically and economically sound and environmentally friendly, thereby promoting the construction of a recycling system. Industry insiders believe that my country's policy framework for the healthy development of the new energy vehicle market is becoming increasingly comprehensive. In particular, the recycling and utilization of power batteries is crucial to the formation of a closed-loop new energy vehicle industry. Early policy implementation and planning contribute to the healthy development of the new energy vehicle industry and can prevent the proliferation of chaotic practices in the dismantling of related parts in the new energy vehicle market.
With a clear objective, the goal is to build a recycling system.
With the continuous expansion of my country's new energy vehicle market, the recycling and reuse of power batteries is inevitably a major issue. After all, for my country's new energy vehicle market, which already holds the top position globally, early implementation of battery recycling is crucial for its long-term sustainable development. It's worth noting that, driven by policy promotion, my country became the world's largest new energy vehicle market as early as the first half of 2015 and has maintained this position ever since. Industry experts predict that new energy vehicle sales may exceed one million units in 2018.
Meanwhile, the industry remains concerned about the stability, durability, and driving range of new energy vehicle batteries. In particular, the disposal of used batteries is a major worry for all new energy vehicle owners and a key focus for policymakers. To address this, the plan proposes that by 2020, a comprehensive power battery recycling system will be established, and innovative business cooperation models for power battery recycling will be explored. Several demonstration production lines for recycling will be built, along with a number of advanced demonstration projects for the efficient recycling and high-value utilization of retired power batteries. A number of benchmark enterprises for power battery recycling will be cultivated, key technologies for power battery recycling will be developed and promoted, relevant technical standards for power battery recycling will be released, and policy measures to promote power battery recycling will be researched and proposed.
Regarding the pilot program, the plan outlines four key aspects: constructing a recycling system, exploring diversified business models, promoting advanced technology innovation and application, and establishing a sound policy incentive mechanism. Specifically, concerning the recycling system, the plan requires full implementation of the extended producer responsibility system, with automobile manufacturers, battery manufacturers, end-of-life vehicle recycling and dismantling companies, and comprehensive utilization companies collaborating in various forms to jointly build and share recycling channels for used power batteries. The plan encourages pilot areas to cooperate with surrounding regions to conduct centralized recycling and standardized comprehensive utilization of used power batteries, improving recycling efficiency. Adhering to the concept of the entire product lifecycle, the plan establishes a traceability mechanism for power battery products, ensuring that the source, destination, and key stages are traceable and controllable. It implements full-process information management for power batteries, achieving safe and proper recycling, storage, transfer, and disposal.
Regarding policy incentives, the plan also reveals new trends, namely, researching policy measures to support the recycling and reuse of power batteries for new energy vehicles, exploring relevant policy incentive mechanisms to promote the recycling and reuse of power batteries, and fully mobilizing the enthusiasm of all parties to promote the recycling and reuse of power batteries. This means that there will be further incentive policies for specific power battery recycling implementations in the future, with the aim of attracting as many local governments, automakers, and even third-party companies as possible to join the green development path of recycling and reusing new energy vehicle batteries.
Taking precautions to avoid chaos in the new energy vehicle market
Although my country's new energy vehicle market started late, driven by policy and rapid market development, it has reached a critical juncture where it must begin to develop related aftermarket infrastructure. After all, battery recycling is one of the key factors for the continued expansion and sustainable long-term development of the new energy vehicle market.
Although the relatively short development time of the new energy vehicle market has prevented the emergence of chaotic practices regarding battery recycling, comparing it to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles serves as a wake-up call for the rapidly developing new energy vehicle market. In the traditional automobile market, my country already held the title of "world's largest producer and seller" in 2009, and its market continues to maintain a high growth rate. However, an unavoidable issue is the problems arising from auto parts themselves. Due to the lack of relevant policies and regulations, the market has been allowed to develop freely, giving rise to problems such as underground vehicle dismantling and the resale of scrap parts. This has led to improper profiteering and the return of substandard refurbished parts to the market, posing significant safety hazards.
In response, relevant departments have launched several campaigns to rectify and regulate the order of scrapped vehicle recycling and dismantling, in order to effectively strengthen the management of scrapped vehicles and severely crack down on illegal recycling, dismantling, and resale of scrapped vehicles and assembled vehicles. At the policy level, in May 2010, 11 ministries, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Remanufacturing Industry," designating auto parts, construction machinery, and machine tools as key areas for the development of the remanufacturing industry. In July 2013, five ministries, including the NDRC, issued the "Pilot Implementation Plan for 'Trade-in' in the Remanufacturing Industry," requiring that remanufactured products such as automobile engines and transmissions be used as pilot projects in 2013, with the scope of the pilot project gradually expanded based on the implementation results.
It should be said that in the traditional automobile market, my country's relevant policies lagged behind the widespread phenomenon of disorderly dismantling and profiteering, which is clearly detrimental to the orderly development of the automotive aftermarket and even the automotive industry itself. In contrast, policymakers in the new energy vehicle sector have clearly learned from past mistakes and proactively planned for the recycling and reuse of the core component of new energy vehicles—the power battery. Their aim is to anticipate and address potential problems from the very beginning of the new energy vehicle market's development. In fact, as early as September 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, publicly solicited opinions on the "Technical Policy for the Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles (2015 Edition)," demonstrating that policymakers already had a well-thought-out long-term development plan for the new energy vehicle industry.
Jia Xinguang, executive director of the China Automobile Dealers Association, pointed out in an earlier interview that the chaos in the remanufacturing of traditional auto parts stems from profit-driven motives, and that national-level regulations on traditional auto remanufacturing would obviously help to address this problem. Unlike traditional vehicles, the core component of new energy vehicles is the power battery, which itself is highly susceptible to environmental damage. Therefore, the sooner potential problems are clearly identified and resolved, the more conducive it will be to the sustainable development of the industry. For the new energy vehicle industry, since it has become the established development direction, it should address potential obstacles to industrial progress as early as possible through policy implementation. This means accelerating the formation of an industrial closed loop through policy implementation, seeking standardized and orderly development along a virtuous cycle of "production – sales – use – reuse."
