On September 15, 2026, the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "Guidelines for the Construction of the Power Battery Recycling and Utilization Industry Standard System (2026 Edition)" (draft for comments), soliciting public feedback from September 16 to October 15, 2026. The draft proposes adhering to the principle of "entire chain coordination, standards-led guidance, and collaborative governance," advancing the formulation, implementation, and international alignment of standards in the power battery recycling field in stages and with clear priorities. It aims to accelerate the establishment of a standard system covering the entire industry chain of "collection—storage and transportation—physical processing—chemical processing" for waste power batteries, as well as the full product life cycle. By 2030, in response to the needs of industry chain extension and green low-carbon transformation, more than 50 national standards will be developed or revised. This will fundamentally establish a power battery recycling and utilization standard system that covers the entire industry chain and the full product life cycle, gradually forming a standard system characterized by efficient resource utilization, full industry chain coverage, and domestic and international coordination.
From the perspective of system architecture, the standard system consists of six parts: general fundamentals, collection and classification, physical treatment, chemical treatment, comprehensive utilization products, and green and low-carbon. Collection and classification standards focus on standardizing collection and scientific grading, setting requirements for recycling enterprise qualifications, collection network layout, residual energy detection and appearance inspection, as well as packaging, storage, and transportation. Physical treatment standards cover processes such as dismantling and disassembly, crushing, grinding, and sorting. Chemical treatment standards provide specifications for pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and synthesis processes for regenerated cathode and anode materials. Comprehensive utilization product standards are divided into two parts: first, intermediate raw materials in the process, with plans to standardize technical indicators and grading classification for products such as regenerated black mass; second, recycled materials, with plans to establish unified requirements for core indicators such as purity, particle size, and recycled element ratios of regenerated metal salts, regenerated precursors, regenerated cathode materials, and regenerated anode materials. Green and low-carbon standards include six aspects: green design, energy conservation and carbon reduction, analysis and detection, management evaluation, verification and accounting, and three-waste treatment.
The draft for comments also highlights the current shortcomings in industry standardization: relevant standards mostly focus on single segments, lack top-level design, and suffer from poor coordination between upstream and downstream standards. There is also insufficient standard supply in key areas such as green design, regulated recycling, and comprehensive utilization. The document makes clear that power batteries are rich in strategic resources such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, and that recycling and utilization can effectively alleviate and reduce import dependence, enhancing the country's ability to secure mineral resource supply. According to SMM data, global theoretical lithium-ion battery recycling volume has maintained rapid growth, with the fastest growth coming from the social end-of-life channel, at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 46% from 2026 to 2030. Meanwhile, production waste and inventory end-of-life channels are expected to grow at approximately 18% and 15%, respectively, over the same period. From a regional perspective, China is the main market for global lithium battery recycling and will continue to dominate the market share of end-of-life batteries. As early-installed batteries successively enter the retirement phase, the expansion of domestic recycling scale has accelerated markedly, further underscoring the urgency of accelerating the construction of the standards system.
For the market, the document is currently in the draft comment stage and represents medium- and long-term institutional development, with limited short-term impact on price trends in the lithium battery recycling segment. In the medium and long term, the unification of standards for intermediate raw materials such as recycled black mass and recycled material products is expected to standardize quality specifications and pricing bases in externally purchased processing, reducing pricing disputes caused by inconsistent quality standards. The advancement of green, low-carbon, and comprehensive utilization standards will also further enhance the competitive advantages of compliant enterprises. Going forward, attention should be paid to the pace of the official document's release and the implementation of supporting standards.
