Lithium-ion battery confusion -Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment
The development status of the power lithium-ion battery recycling industry, and the various difficulties behind it.
Obviously nothing new, why has the establishment of a power lithium-ion battery recycling system suddenly become an urgent matter in the past two years?
Of course, it is because of the explosion of new energy vehicles.
Data show that from 2015 to 2020, my country's annual power lithium-ion battery installed capacity increased from 16GWh to 63.6GWh, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 50%. According to data from my country Automotive Technology Research Center, in 2020, the cumulative number of power lithium-ion batteries retired in China will exceed 200,000 tons (about 25GWh), and the market size will reach 10 billion yuan .(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
However, what we are seeing is just the tide.
Taking into account the average effective life of power lithium-ion batteries of 4-6 years and the service life of 5-8 years, combined with the rapid popularization of electric vehicles starting in 2014, we will usher in the first batch of retirement peaks at the end of 2021.
But the delivery volume of new energy vehicles at that time was not worth mentioning compared with recent years. As of the end of 2020, the number of new energy vehicles in my country has reached 4.92 million, of which the number of pure electric vehicles is 4 million, and the number of new energy vehicles has continued to exceed 1 million for 3 years. As of October 2021, the current domestic new energy vehicles Car retail sales have exceeded 2.13 million .
The rapidly rising new energy vehicle market means huge pressure to retire power lithium-ion batteries in batches. It is estimated that in 2025, my country's retired power lithium-ion batteries will be close to 800,000 tons. This is a figure that cannot be taken lightly. If it cannot be properly disposed of, such a huge amount of retired batteries is not only a waste of resources, but also a great harm to the environment.
Obviously, how to build a perfect power lithium-ion battery recycling chain has attracted widespread attention in the market. Through this article, the magnifying light will explain the current situation of the industry development and the various difficulties behind it.
It is recommended to read this article together with "After reading this article, Getting Started with Lithium-ion Batteries" previously published by Magnifier for a better experience
1Why do we need to recycle power lithium-ion batteries?
There are two important factors that promote the development of the power lithium-ion battery recycling industry: the need for environmental protection, and the economics of precious metal recycling.
As we all know, used batteries are a highly polluting garbage. Especially the huge power lithium-ion battery, which contains a large amount of heavy metals, electrolytes, solvents and various organic materials, is a combination of a variety of highly toxic pollutants. Improper disposal will seriously pollute the soil and water sources. Toxic gas emissions.
Therefore, simple landfilling or incineration is not suitable for disposing of retired power lithium-ion batteries - and this is also a waste of resources.
First of all, although it is called "retired" power lithium-ion batteries, it does not mean that the performance of these batteries is close to being scrapped. Generally speaking, when the capacity of the power lithium-ion battery decays to below about 80%~70% of the rated capacity, it is no longer suitable for electric vehicles, but in the range of 80%~20%, the performance of the power lithium-ion battery is still It can meet the energy requirements of many equipment, and only when the capacity drops to 20% does it need to be forced to be scrapped, which is also called the re-mining of the energy value of the battery.
In addition to energy value, power lithium-ion batteries also have material regeneration value. Taking the ternary battery, one of the two most mainstream battery routes, as an example, the cobalt metal used in it is a very rare metal element. In the African region, cobalt mines have long suffered from unstable output and are often disturbed by various external factors, such as the local political situation. As a result, the price of cobalt does not rise. If it rises, it will directly kill the supply chain, so it is nicknamed "Cobalt Granny".
It is precisely because of the price of cobalt that many car companies choose to use 811 ternary batteries (nickel-cobalt-manganese ratio of 8:1:1), or even cobalt-free batteries (such as Tesla), or they cannot afford to hide. Since then, it has been directly transformed into lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Obviously nothing new, why has the establishment of a power lithium-ion battery recycling system suddenly become an urgent matter in the past two years?
Of course, it is because of the explosion of new energy vehicles.
Data show that from 2015 to 2020, my country's annual power lithium-ion battery installed capacity increased from 16GWh to 63.6GWh, with an annual compound growth rate of more than 50%. According to data from my country Automotive Technology Research Center, in 2020, the cumulative number of power lithium-ion batteries retired in China will exceed 200,000 tons (about 25GWh), and the market size will reach 10 billion yuan .(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
However, what we are seeing is just the tide.
Taking into account the average effective life of power lithium-ion batteries of 4-6 years and the service life of 5-8 years, combined with the rapid popularization of electric vehicles starting in 2014, we will usher in the first batch of retirement peaks at the end of 2021.
But the delivery volume of new energy vehicles at that time was not worth mentioning compared with recent years. As of the end of 2020, the number of new energy vehicles in my country has reached 4.92 million, of which the number of pure electric vehicles is 4 million, and the number of new energy vehicles has continued to exceed 1 million for 3 years. As of October 2021, the current domestic new energy vehicles Car retail sales have exceeded 2.13 million .
The rapidly rising new energy vehicle market means huge pressure to retire power lithium-ion batteries in batches. It is estimated that in 2025, my country's retired power lithium-ion batteries will be close to 800,000 tons. This is a figure that cannot be taken lightly. If it cannot be properly disposed of, such a huge amount of retired batteries is not only a waste of resources, but also a great harm to the environment.
Obviously, how to build a perfect power lithium-ion battery recycling chain has attracted widespread attention in the market. Through this article, the magnifying light will explain the current situation of the industry development and the various difficulties behind it.
It is recommended to read this article together with "After reading this article, Getting Started with Lithium-ion Batteries" previously published by Magnifier for a better experience
1Why do we need to recycle power lithium-ion batteries?
There are two important factors that promote the development of the power lithium-ion battery recycling industry: the need for environmental protection, and the economics of precious metal recycling.
As we all know, used batteries are a highly polluting garbage. Especially the huge power lithium-ion battery, which contains a large amount of heavy metals, electrolytes, solvents and various organic materials, is a combination of a variety of highly toxic pollutants. Improper disposal will seriously pollute the soil and water sources. Toxic gas emissions.
Therefore, simple landfilling or incineration is not suitable for disposing of retired power lithium-ion batteries - and this is also a waste of resources.
First of all, although it is called "retired" power lithium-ion batteries, it does not mean that the performance of these batteries is close to being scrapped. Generally speaking, when the capacity of the power lithium-ion battery decays to below about 80%~70% of the rated capacity, it is no longer suitable for electric vehicles, but in the range of 80%~20%, the performance of the power lithium-ion battery is still It can meet the energy requirements of many equipment, and only when the capacity drops to 20% does it need to be forced to be scrapped, which is also called the re-mining of the energy value of the battery.
In addition to energy value, power lithium-ion batteries also have material regeneration value. Taking the ternary battery, one of the two most mainstream battery routes, as an example, the cobalt metal used in it is a very rare metal element. In the African region, cobalt mines have long suffered from unstable output and are often disturbed by various external factors, such as the local political situation. As a result, the price of cobalt does not rise. If it rises, it will directly kill the supply chain, so it is nicknamed "Cobalt Granny".
It is precisely because of the price of cobalt that many car companies choose to use 811 ternary batteries (nickel-cobalt-manganese ratio of 8:1:1), or even cobalt-free batteries (such as Tesla), or they cannot afford to hide. Since then, it has been directly transformed into lithium iron phosphate batteries.
