Retired batteries are sweeping the world. According to the statistics of domestic consulting agencies, by the end of 2019, the number of new energy vehicles in China has exceeded 3.81 million. According to the average service life of power batteries of 5-7 years, by 2020, the total number of retired power batteries in China may reach 200000 tons.
There is no doubt that such a huge amount of retirement can be properly handled. As an employee in the industry said: "the harmless treatment of retired power batteries is an important foundation to support the development of the whole new energy vehicle industry. Whether the retired power battery can be treated in a green way determines whether the new energy vehicle industry is environmentally friendly and sustainable This is definitely not a high sounding statement.
In fact, as early as 2018, the state has issued the "extended producer responsibility system" for power battery recycling, requiring automobile enterprises to bear the main responsibility for battery recycling, but only from the perspective of main engine manufacturers, the progress is still slow. As for battery manufacturers and power battery recycling companies, although the overall development trend is diversified, the recycling volume is still small.
Statistics show that as of the beginning of 2020, although there are about 3000 enterprises with "battery recycling" in China's business scope, there will be more than 700 new enterprises in 2019 alone. However, the actual recovery of waste power batteries is less than 20000 tons, and the recovery rate is only 10%.
At present, the scientific and effective supervision system of battery recycling needs to be established. It is reported that at present, the market chaos of traditional car scrapping and recycling has not been effectively managed. Most of the scrapped cars and power batteries have been illegally purchased and disassembled. The recycling process has not been effectively supervised, and the recycling location is remote. Moreover, unqualified individuals and small workshops illegally recycle power batteries and directly discharge waste, which has caused serious environmental pollution in some areas.
Previously, some media reported the "cluster chaos" and "miasma" in the field of battery recycling.
"A few people rent a warehouse, send information online, can start recycling." Employees of a new energy industry in China said that there are not a few "guerrillas" recycling around Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Shenzhen in Guangdong and Xinxiang in Henan.
"There is no formal process, no compliance with environmental requirements, let alone any technical content. Informal recycling is even more than that of regular enterprises. If we change places, it will not only disrupt the market, but also leave hidden dangers of pollution. " The practitioners are deeply concerned.
It is worth noting that complex technology has also become an important reason for the slow development of battery recycling process. Industry analysis pointed out that the safety risk of battery recycling is still difficult to solve, because the industry's standards and system for battery residual life and consistency assessment are not perfect. The utilization rate of each battery is not the same, and the battery models of each manufacturer are different, even the service life of the same model is different. This has brought a lot of problems to recycling.
It seems that battery recycling is a systematic project, and standardized and professional treatment is the only way.