China certainly seems to be tightening its battery regulations, as electric transport becomes increasingly popular there. Only last week it set new standards for energy intensity, power density, cycle life and other battery criteria. Now there is a new battery recycling standard for China out on review too.
Why Is China Standardizing Battery Recycling Now?
China has become a global leader in batteries for electric vehicles, as well as for energy storage and general use. However, there has been some push-back from developed nations, who encourage transport sustainability in everything we do.
The new battery recycling standard from China focuses on the entire product life cycle of electric vehicle batteries. Global Times confirms this includes ‘multi-level, multi-purpose utilization of used electric vehicle batteries, including cascading, repurposing, and recycling.
‘Cascading’ refers to finding new uses for electric car batteries after they have shed their critical capacity, The broad principles include first testing and disassembling them, before replacing any dud cells. And then finding other uses for them within their reduced power range.
But the Chinese standard also addresses administrative matters, such as norms for equipment, premises, and factories. But it does not stop there either. The draft regulation also addresses working procedures, resource optimization, battery tracing, and monitoring energy footprints too.
How Far Are We Down the Road With This Goal?
“Setting clear standards for every link of the process is key to ensuring the sector’s orderly development,” the secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association told Global Times. That way we preserve critical resources, and prevent environmental pollution.
Some cities around the globe are already putting these processes in place. Others are sadly lacking initiative, and leaving business to take up the slack. We can’t over-estimate how important this new initiative is, as signs of climate change stack up around us.
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