The power battery recycling boom is coming, and related companies are preparing for the rainy day and making arrangements in advance

At present, the production and sales of new energy vehicles are growing rapidly, but the recycling of waste batteries is still in the exploratory stage. According to relevant data, in 2022, the recycling volume of power batteries in China will reach 425,000 tons, and the relevant market size will reach 13.1 billion yuan. At present, the retirement of power batteries has not yet formed a scale, and the relevant industrial supporting facilities are still unclear.

The rapid development of new energy vehicles has promoted the rapid expansion of the power battery industry. In 2014, the domestic power battery output was only 3.7GWh. In 2017, my country's power battery installed capacity reached 36.2GWh.

In the future, the retirement of these batteries will lead to the rapid development of the power battery recycling market. Retired power batteries will first be cascaded and then recycled. It is estimated that in 2020, the battery recycling market will reach about 6.5 billion yuan, of which cascaded utilization will be about 4.1 billion yuan and the recycling market will be about 2.4 billion yuan.

Currently, many companies are planning for this future market. Guanghua Technology established a battery recycling demonstration line in Shantou, Guangdong in October 2017. GEM plans to build a circular economy industrial park in Ningde. CATL has completed the layout of related businesses by acquiring Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd.

Last month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the first list of companies that meet the "Industry Standards for Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries of New Energy Vehicles", and five companies were on the list. In order to prepare for the large-scale retirement of power batteries in the next few years, relevant departments are stepping up efforts to improve the standards for power battery recycling.

At present, there are many small workshops in the existing power battery recycling channels, which makes it impossible to recycle power batteries in a standardized manner, which may cause serious pollution to the environment. The power battery industry needs to raise the threshold for recycling and standardize the recycling process of enterprises.

For most companies, the current layout is more of a preparation for the future market. Because the current power battery retirement has not yet reached a scale, the relevant market is not large enough. The initial investment of companies in this field is large, and they need to rely on other businesses to maintain a balance between income and expenditure. Large-scale scrapping will have to wait until two years later, and power battery recycling and processing will need to meet the quantity requirements before profitability can be achieved. In addition, the price fluctuations of lithium battery materials and the long recycling cycle of cascade utilization will also affect corporate profits.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.