【SMM analysis】 National Waste Lithium Battery Recycling Projects Surge This Week, Adding Over 200,000 mt/year Capacity

SMM May 28 News:

This week (May 22–29), China's waste lithium battery recycling sector witnessed a wave of project public announcements and launches, spanning more than ten provinces and cities including Guangdong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Hubei. The total new processing capacity added exceeds 200,000 mt/year, covering multiple segments such as echelon utilization, dismantling and crushing, lithium extraction from black mass, and cathode material repair. The industry's capacity expansion has entered an acceleration phase.

In terms of project scale, those with capacities of 10,000 mt and above dominate:

【Cangzhou, Hebei: 60,000-ton waste lithium battery resource utilization project landed】Recently, the Bohai New Area Administrative Committee and Huanghua Municipal People's Government of Cangzhou, Hebei Province, issued a notice on the proposed approval of the environmental impact report for a Hebei company's "New Energy Vehicle Power Battery Material Processing and Battery Echelon Utilization and Resource Center Project (Re-submission for Approval)". According to the notice, total investment is 500 million yuan, and the site is located in the Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone. The project will build one combined dismantling and black mass workshop, one concentration and crystallization workshop, one raw material warehouse, one hazardous waste room, a concentrated sulfuric acid pump area, and storage tank area. It will build one dismantling and echelon utilization production line, one black mass preparation (cell crushing) production line, and one lithium carbonate production line.

【Changxing, Zhejiang: 23,000-ton waste lithium battery echelon utilization project】Recently, the Changxing County People's Government of Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, issued a public participation statement for the environmental impact assessment of a Zhejiang company's "Annual 23,000-ton Waste Lithium Battery Echelon Utilization and Green Recycling Technology Industrialization Technical Renovation and Upgrade Project". According to the notice, the "23,000-ton/year waste lithium battery echelon utilization and green recycling technology industrialization project" has been completed, and currently has the capacity to process and utilize 11,500 tons of waste lithium-ion batteries and 11,500 tons of waste electrode sheets per year.

【Hubei: 40,000-ton retired lithium battery comprehensive utilization project landed】Recently, a Hubei company's official website released the first environmental impact assessment announcement for its "Retired Lithium Battery Comprehensive Utilization Project". According to the announcement, the project site is located in the Economic Development Zone of Dawu County, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province. It will feature fully automatic precise dismantling and cathode material repair production, with plans to purchase complete sets of equipment for cell precision disassembly, powder separation, material purification, and material regeneration and repair. Upon completion, it will process 40,000 tons of waste LFP batteries annually and produce 20,000 tons of regenerated and repaired battery cathode materials per year.

This week, waste lithium battery recycling projects were launched intensively across the country, accelerating capacity expansion across the entire chain from echelon utilization to lithium extraction from black mass and cathode material repair. On the policy front, five government departments conducted joint enforcement actions while simultaneously advancing standard construction, continuously raising the industry's compliance threshold. Against the backdrop of a gradually unfolding wave of retired power batteries coupled with surging energy storage demand, the waste lithium battery recycling industry is rapidly evolving from a fragmented, small-scale, and disorderly landscape toward one characterized by scale, standardization, and high-value utilization.

【Wenzhou, Zhejiang: 5,000-ton waste power battery dismantling and standardized echelon project landed】Recently, the Longwan District People's Government of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, published an environmental impact assessment notice for a Zhejiang company's "Waste Power Battery Dismantling and Standardized Echelon Utilization Project". According to the notice, the company's project is located in the Wenzhou Bay New Energy Technology Industrial Park. The project will utilize existing factory buildings to set up one module and pack assembly line and two used lithium battery pack physical dismantling lines, without involving cell disassembly. Upon completion, the project will achieve an annual echelon utilization capacity of 5,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries.