“Speeding up the recycling of lithium batteries is a matter of urgency, and has become a major issue for the development of the new energy vehicle industry,” Zhang Tianren, chairman of the battery maker Tianneng Power, wrote in a proposal submitted to China’s parliament in March. Some executives also say China is not doing enough to encourage the industry with subsidies and enforce existing environmental regulations. The China Automobile Innovation Centre, an industry think tank, estimates the recycling market could be worth 31 billion yuan ($4.68 billion) by 2023. Battery waste includes heavy metals like cobalt and nickel, as well as toxic residues that could end up in waterways and the soil if not handled properly.ĭespite the challenges, battery waste also represents a significant opportunity for the country’s growing recycling industry. Lithium batteries are not yet classified as hazardous waste and are therefore not subject to stringent disposal controls. The figure is likely to keep multiplying in tandem with car sales.ĭealing with all that waste poses huge problems for China. In the first eight months of 2017, Chinese manufacturers produced 6.7 billion batteries, up 51 percent from the year-earlier period, according to industry ministry data.Īll that activity could put China in pole position for dominating the global electric car industry, as well as related businesses like batteries and recycling.Ĭhina began promoting electric vehicles in 2009, and as the first of those cars reach the end of their lifespan, lithium battery waste could be as much as 170,000 tonnes next year, industry experts estimate. Production in China of the lithium batteries that power those cars has also soared.
It also overtook the United States as the market with the greatest number of electric vehicles. The government is targeting sales of 2 million a year by 2020 and 7 million five years later, amounting to a fifth of total car production by 2025.Īccording to the International Energy Agency, China accounted for more than 40 percent of global electric car sales in 2016, followed by the European Union and the United States. Led by companies like BYD and Geely, sales of electric vehicles in China reached 507,000 in 2016, up 53 percent over the previous year. The growth of China’s electric vehicle industry - and the ambitions of recycling companies - is underpinned by a government drive to eventually phase out gasoline-burning cars, part of a broader effort to improve urban air quality and ease a reliance on overseas oil.
That confidence comes even as companies face considerable hurdles launching battery recycling businesses, including high operating costs. Ltd, whose share prices have risen as they invest in battery recycling facilities of their own. Shanghai Jinqiao will be entering a market that includes Chinese companies like Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium and GEM Co. “We believe there will be so much growth in the number of electric vehicles in the future,” he said. The plant has secured licenses and is undergoing upgrades to handle a fast-growing mountain of battery waste, said Li Yingzhe, a manager at the facility, run by the state-owned Shanghai Jinqiao Group. Batteries for electric vehicles are manufactured at a factory in Dongguan, China September 20, 2017.