The time limit for large-scale decommissioning of power batteries is approaching. On May 17, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Interim Provisions on the Traceability Management of the Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles (Draft for Comment), which aims to further standardize the collection of information throughout the entire process of power batteries, and put forward regulatory requirements for the implementation of recycling responsibilities by entities in all links.

　　Estimates show that the "decommissioning tide" of power batteries will begin to break out this year. If 70% of the cascade utilization is implemented, there will be about 60,000 tons of used batteries waiting for disposal in 2020. On the one hand, there is a rush of scrapping in batches, and on the other hand, there are emerging fields that are still in their infancy. What test will power battery recycling experience?

　　The recycling market is chaotic

　　"We weigh it by weight, 8 yuan a kilogram, no bargaining. This is already considered a high price."

　　"Are there any photos? I'll give you a quote after checking the size and model. Large quantities can be collected at home."

　　"The price is 50 yuan each. This kind of battery can only be dismantled and is not worth much."

　　This is the scene the reporter saw when he visited a recycling center for waste products outside the South Fifth Ring Road in Beijing.

　　opened a number of second-hand goods service platforms, similar to the "cash purchase of lithium batteries for electric vehicles" and "recycling of new energy vehicle batteries" information abound.

　　"A few people rent a warehouse and post information online, and they can start recycling." Zhao Xiaoyong, general manager of Beijing Saidemei Resource Reuse Research Institute Co., Ltd., told reporters. "Guerillas" are not in the minority. "There is no formal process, nor compliance with environmental protection requirements, let alone any technical content. Informal recycling is even more than that of formal enterprises. A few shots to change places will not only disrupt the market, but also leave a hidden danger of pollution."

　　And this kind of chaotic problem also occurs in some regular automobile scrapping and dismantling enterprises. "Existing scrapped and dismantled companies are mainly petrol vehicles and do not have much experience with new energy vehicles. For example, vehicles that are scrapped due to traffic accidents or directly eliminated without entering the cascade can only be processed according to the traditional process." China Material Recycling Gao Yanli, vice president of the association, said frankly that since last year, it has received feedback from companies in Beijing, Hebei, Henan and other places, saying that there are doubts about the storage and transportation of power batteries after the disassembly, and she hopes that the association will help.

　　Where should the power battery go after it is retired? Actually, the industry has long been concerned. "For example, the batteries of the batch of electric vehicles used as a demonstration during the 2008 Beijing Olympics have long been scrapped. But only some of them were recycled by manufacturers and research institutions for research and development, and the destination of the remaining batteries is unknown." Gao Yanli said.

　　"Regardless of from the perspective of green environmental protection, safety management, or upstream supply guarantee, the supervision of recycling should be strengthened as soon as possible." Zhao Xiaoyong said.

　　The main body, technology, and mode of recycling are vague

　　Why is power battery recycling a problem? In the opinion of many people in the industry, the focus of the problem lies in the uncertainty of who will collect it, how it will be collected, and what mode of recycling will be used.

　　First of all, the recovery body is not in place. "According to the regulations, auto companies should bear the main responsibility for recycling, but car companies are not omnipotent." Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Car Market Information Joint Council, said that to a certain extent, car companies are more like "assembly plants" of electric vehicles. , Responsible for the normal use of batteries, production and supply, secondary utilization and recycling during the warranty period, but it is the specialty of battery companies. "I think that who sells the batteries and who is responsible for the batteries should at least be co-operated by both parties. Unfortunately, battery companies are often excluded from the recycling system, and the responsibilities are currently unclear."

　　"In addition, when the vehicle is in the hands of the user, the property right no longer belongs to the car company. Once the warranty period expires, can the car company guarantee to take it back?" Zhao Xiaoyong said.

　　Secondly, in terms of technology, recycling itself is not difficult. The difficulty lies in the post-processing technology. It is understood that the types, specifications, processes, etc. of retired batteries are different, and there are diversity in series and parallel group forms, application models, use time and working conditions, resulting in complex disassembly. Taking the hydrometallurgical technology that is currently most widely used in China as an example, in addition to the low overall recovery rate, the strong acid, strong alkali, and ammonia produced in the recovery are very easy to cause pollution.

　　"More often, companies only get the waste battery itself, but not the relevant data. This brings difficulties to the later stages of utilization, disassembly, and pre-judgment, and increases processing costs." Shandong Zhidou Battery Integration Technology Co., Ltd. Executive Vice President Wu Hui said.

　　Finally, in the recycling model, because the "decommissioning tide" has not yet arrived on a large scale, many companies are facing profit problems, and it is still difficult to achieve scale effects in the short term.

　　"From the perspective of economic benefits, our companies specializing in recycling are even inferior to those informal small manufacturers." Ou Hancheng, general manager of Jiangxi Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. said frankly, "Only transportation and warehousing links, we strictly follow Hazardous goods-related requirements, compared with small factories using ordinary logistics and random stacking, cost a lot higher."

　　The relevant person in charge of BAIC New Energy also feels this. "The country has not yet established a mature power battery recycling system. Although some companies are involved, their investment exceeds the value of the battery, lack of profitability, and poor economy."

　　All parties explore solutions

　　The start was difficult, but the prospects are generally optimistic in the industry. Some institutions even predict that the power battery recycling market will form a new "outflow" of tens of billions of dollars. How to break the ice at this stage? The establishment of a mature closed-loop industrial chain may fundamentally solve the recycling problem.

　　Start with the recovery of the main body. "We should realize that for car companies, only responsibility but no benefit is something that makes people feel uncomfortable. How can we stimulate the enthusiasm of the responsible subject?" Cui Dongshu said, first of all, a local comprehensive recycling system can be established. The designated recycling point is handed over to qualified enterprises, and strict supervision is adopted to prevent illegal recycling. "At the same time, car companies and battery companies are encouraged to work together to implement treatment based on effective battery classification to form a complete benefit chain. Accelerate the integrated development of the upstream and downstream of the power battery industry chain, and make recycling a profitable business, which naturally stimulates all Fang's enthusiasm."

　　In this regard, Zhao Xiaoyong also said that the industry is still in its infancy in the research of power battery circular economy models. "However, as the first responsible person, car companies should take the initiative to establish recycling service outlets and announce them to the public. They can jointly form recycling channels through after-sales service agencies and battery leasing companies. They can also cooperate with related companies to build and share recycling channels to increase recycling. Rate. From enterprises, 4S stores to service stations, etc., the recycling is completed by means of reverse logistics, and traceability management is formed."

　　"We have also made many attempts to recycle power batteries." The above-mentioned person in charge of BAIC said, for example, for different application scenarios, focusing on retired battery modules, establishing application technology and system integration technology from whole package, module to battery cell. , And carry out successive application evaluations. When the battery capacity of the whole vehicle is less than 80%, it can be decommissioned and transferred to the echelon utilization link, which can be used in the energy storage system through screening and regrouping. When the battery capacity is less than 40%, it enters the disassembly and recovery process, thus forming a complete set of closed management loops.

　　However, the person in charge also pointed out that after fully launching business model pilots and accumulating experience, we should copy the circular economy model that has real promotion value to avoid rushing.

　　"As of now, there are more than 400 power battery recycling companies in the country, and everyone is looking for and building their own channels. For companies, this will be conducive to obtaining battery recycling benefits, but from an industry perspective or overall social effect, It is inevitable that the repeated construction of channels will lead to lower social efficiency and utilization. In other words, we are still in the groping stage in terms of market size and business model." Yang Qingyu, director of the Comprehensive Department of the China Battery Union, reminded.