SMM, May 28:
This week (May 22-29), the scrap lithium battery recycling sector across China saw a wave of project announcements and implementations, involving over ten provinces and cities including Guangdong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Hubei. The newly added processing capacity totaled over 200,000 mt/year, covering multiple segments such as second-life application, dismantling and crushing, black mass lithium extraction, and cathode material repair. The industry's capacity expansion entered an acceleration phase.
In terms of project scale, projects of 10kt-level and above dominated:
[Guangdong: 40,000 mt scrap lithium power battery regeneration project implemented] Recently, the Huizhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment in Guangdong province released the acceptance information announcement for the construction project of "Guangdong Hongli New Materials Co., Ltd. Annual 40,000 mt Scrap Lithium Power Battery Anode Graphite, Pouch Composite Aluminum and Separator Regeneration Project." According to the announcement, the total investment was 116 million yuan. The construction site was located in Boluo County, Huizhou, Guangdong province. The project was to build an annual 40,000 mt scrap lithium power battery anode graphite, pouch composite aluminum and separator regeneration facility, with annual regeneration of 20,000 mt of scrap lithium battery anode graphite, 10,000 mt of aluminum-plastic film, and 10,000 mt of separator.
[Guiyang: 120 million yuan scrap lithium battery green recycling project implemented] Recently, the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone in Guizhou province released the first public participation announcement for the environmental impact assessment of "Guizhou Saili New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone Saili Scrap Lithium Battery Green Recycling and High-Value Utilization Industrial Base Project." According to the announcement, the total investment was 120 million yuan. The construction site was located in the Guiyang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Guiyang, Guizhou province. The project was to purchase 3 sets of equipment and plans to build 1 scrap lithium battery recycling and dismantling production line, 1 cathode and anode material crushing production line, and 1 second-life application production line, to rapidly form scaled capacity.
[Jiangsu Huai'an: over 30,000 mt scrap LFP battery comprehensive recycling and utilization project implemented] Recently, the Huai'an Municipal People's Government in Jiangsu province released the announcement on the planned review of the environmental impact report for "Jiangsu Baisikai Resource Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. Scrap LFP Battery and Scrap High-Value Comprehensive Recycling and Utilization Project with Annual Output of 10,000 mt Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate." The current phase involves building 1 end-of-life LFP battery cell dismantling and pulverizing production line, 1 retired LFP battery cell and LFP positive electrode dismantling and pulverizing production line, and 1 black mass hydrometallurgy lithium extraction production line.
[Tianjin Jinghai: new 10kt-level scrap LFP battery processing project implemented] Recently, the Jinghai District Administrative Approval Bureau of Tianjin released the announcement on the acceptance of the environmental impact report for "Tianjin Battero Technology Co., Ltd. LFP Battery Material Deep Processing Project." According to the announcement, Tianjin Battero Technology Co., Ltd. planned to invest 120.1 million yuan to build the "LFP Battery Material Deep Processing Project," purchasing one crushing and sorting line and LFP mixed black mass deep processing equipment. The project mainly processes externally purchased scrap LFP batteries through crushing and sorting, and further utilizes part of the LFP mixed black mass obtained from the crushing and sorting of scrap LFP batteries in this project, adding scrap LFP battery processing capacity of 10,000 mt/year and LFP mixed black mass processing capacity of 5,000 mt/year.
[Zhejiang Wenzhou: 5,000 mt scrap power battery dismantling and standardized second-life application project implemented] Recently, the Longwan District People's Government website in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province released the environmental impact assessment announcement for the environmental impact report of "REPT Battero Scrap Power Battery Dismantling and Standardized Second-Life Application Project." According to the announcement, the project of REPT Battero Energy Co., Ltd. was located in Wenzhou Bay New Energy Technology Industrial Park. The project was to utilize existing factory buildings to build 1 module and pack assembly production line and 2 scrap lithium battery pack physical dismantling production lines, with no battery cell dismantling involved. Upon completion, the project is expected to achieve an annual second-life application scale of 5,000 mt of lithium-ion batteries.
[Hebei Cangzhou: 60,000 mt scrap lithium battery resource utilization project implemented] Recently, the Cangzhou Bohai New Area Management Committee and Huanghua Municipal People's Government in Hebei province released the planned approval announcement for the environmental impact report of "Hebei First New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. NEV Power Battery Material Processing and Battery Cascade Utilization and Resource Center Project (Re-submission)." According to the announcement, the total investment was 500 million yuan. The construction site was located in Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone. The project was to build 1 dismantling and black mass combined workshop, a concentration and crystallization combined workshop, 1 raw material warehouse, 1 hazardous waste room, a concentrated sulphuric acid pump area, and a storage tank area, as well as 1 dismantling and second-life application production line, 1 black mass preparation (battery cell crushing) production line, and 1 lithium carbonate production line.
[Zhejiang Changxing: 23,000 mt scrap lithium battery cascade utilization project] Recently, the official website of Changxing County People's Government in Huzhou, Zhejiang province released the public participation explanation for the environmental impact assessment of "Zhejiang Tianneng New Materials Co., Ltd. Annual Processing of 23,000 mt Scrap Lithium Battery Cascade Utilization and Green Recycling Technology Industrialisation Technological Transformation Upgrade Project." According to the announcement, the "Annual Processing of 23,000 mt Scrap Lithium Battery Cascade Utilization and Green Recycling Technology Industrialisation Project" had construction completed and currently possessed the capacity to process and utilize 11,500 mt of scrap lithium-ion batteries and 11,500 mt of scrap electrodes annually.
[Hubei: 40,000 mt end-of-life lithium battery comprehensive utilization project implemented] Recently, the official website of Ruikemei released the first environmental impact assessment announcement for "Hubei Ruikemei Resource Regeneration Co., Ltd. End-of-Life Lithium Battery Comprehensive Utilization Project." According to the announcement, the project construction site was located in the Economic Development Zone of Dawu County, Xiaogan, Hubei province. The project was to build fully automated precision dismantling and cathode material repair production, and planned to purchase complete sets of equipment for battery cell precision dismantling, powder separation, material purification, and material regeneration and repair, along with other supporting equipment. Upon completion, the project is expected to process 40,000 mt of scrap LFP batteries annually and produce 20,000 mt of battery cathode regeneration and repair materials annually.
This week, scrap lithium battery recycling projects were intensively implemented across China. From second-life application to black mass lithium extraction to cathode material repair, capacity across the entire chain accelerated expansion. On the policy side, joint enforcement by five ministries and standard-setting advanced in parallel, continuously raising the industry's compliance threshold. Against the backdrop of the gradual release of the power battery retirement wave coupled with the surge in energy storage demand, the scrap lithium battery recycling industry is accelerating its evolution from "fragmented, disorderly, and small-scale" to "scaled, standardized, and high-value."
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lv Yanlin 021-20707875
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
