Treatment of Electric Vehicle Battery Waste in China: A Review of Existing Policies

Abstract

This paper reviews existing policies for supporting the treatment of electric vehicle (EV) battery waste in China, and identifies some of their major shortcomings that policy makers may like to consider while making policy decisions. The shortcomings of existing policies identified in this paper include: 1) no clear provisions for historical and orphan batteries; 2) no target for battery collection; 3) unclear definition of the scope of authority among various central and local agencies involved in the regulation of waste battery treatment; 4) unclear requirements for data auditing and verification for tracking the entire life cycle of EV batteries; 5) limited consideration of the challenges to ensure stakeholder cooperation; and 6) no explicit specification of the mechanisms for financing waste battery treatment. This paper also makes some practical policy suggestions for overcoming these shortcomings.

Recycling of Lithium‐Ion Batteries—Current State of the Art, Circular Economy, and Next Generation Recycling

“…[ 53 ] However, until the 2010s, there was a significant lack of regulation governing the collection and treatment of waste LIBs. [ 42,53 ] With the Notice of the State Council on Issuing the Planning for the Development of the Energy‐Saving and New Energy Automobile Industry from 2012 and the Guiding Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Accelerating Promoting and Application of New‐Energy Automobiles from 2014, the State Council set the foundation for establishing a system for collection and treatment of waste EV batteries, including the development of technical standards and management rules as well as their enforcement. Subsequently, in 2016, the Policy on Pollution Prevention Techniques of Waste Batteries by the Ministry of Ecological and Environment (MEE) and the Implementation Plan of the Extended Producer Responsibility System by the General Office of the State Commission (GOSC) were issued.…”

“…In general, a distinction is made between physical and financial responsibilities. [42,43] Physical responsibility refers to ensuring the treatment of waste products, including collection, transport, sorting, reuse, recycling, and disposal. [42] These tasks can usually be delegated to third parties.…”

“…[42,43] Physical responsibility refers to ensuring the treatment of waste products, including collection, transport, sorting, reuse, recycling, and disposal. [42] These tasks can usually be delegated to third parties. [42][43][44] The financial responsibility relates to the financing of the aforementioned activities and allows producers to internalize the costs of waste treatment and incorporate them into their prices.…”

“…[42] These tasks can usually be delegated to third parties. [42][43][44] The financial responsibility relates to the financing of the aforementioned activities and allows producers to internalize the costs of waste treatment and incorporate them into their prices. [42,43] Regulations regarding the treatment of EOL batteries vary from country to country.…”

“…[42][43][44] The financial responsibility relates to the financing of the aforementioned activities and allows producers to internalize the costs of waste treatment and incorporate them into their prices. [42,43] Regulations regarding the treatment of EOL batteries vary from country to country. In the following, the legislation in three of the largest battery markets, EU, USA, and China, is presented (Table 1).…”