China strengthens recycling of used NEV power batteries

China is strengthening the recycling of used new energy vehicle (NEV) power batteries to address the rising number of end-of-life power batteries and fuel the country's green transition.

China's NEV industry has expanded rapidly. In 2025, NEV production and sales both exceeded 16 million units, accounting for over half of domestic new vehicle sales.

With power batteries from earlier NEVs reaching the end of their service life due to capacity degradation, relevant studies projected nearly 500,000 tons of retired batteries in China for this year alone.

Once dismantled, used NEV power batteries must be turned over to comprehensive utilization companies for standardized, full-scale handling, as improper disposal may lead to electrolyte leakage and heavy-metal pollution, posing risks of environmental damage.

At an NEV dismantling workshop in Nanjing of east China's Jiangsu Province, workers were taking apart power batteries from NEVs. Each removed battery was labeled with a unique QR code.

"After the batteries are disassembled, we scan the QR code in our traceability system to directly trace the vehicle information associated with that battery, thus forming a complete closed loop," said Wang Fengkui, technical lead of the workshop.

The workshop has also set up various safety facilities to respond to emergencies such as thermal runaway, fires and leaks.

The dismantled and decommissioned power batteries would be ultimately sent to specialized recycling companies, where chemical processing extracts recyclable materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the batteries.

Recovery rates for nickel, cobalt and manganese are as high as 99.6 percent, while lithium recovery rate exceeds 90 percent. These reclaimed materials can be reprocessed into positive electrode materials and used in brand-new batteries.

In January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other departments jointly issued interim measures on the recycling and comprehensive utilization of used NEV power batteries.

The measures, which took effect on April 1, 2026, provide that each NEV power battery must be assigned a digital identity.

Highlighting a "full-channel, full-chain, and full-lifecycle" management framework, the interim measures include establishing a national NEV power battery traceability information platform and a digital ID management system.

The measures also specify that if the power battery is missing, the NEV is treated as missing. Disassembled batteries must be handed over to approved recycling centers or comprehensive utilization companies, and illegal dismantling is strictly prohibited.

China strengthens recycling of used NEV power batteries

The newly upgraded Huanggang Port connecting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland recorded more than 3.44 million inbound and outbound passenger trips in its first month of operation, averaging 114,000 per day -- a 120 percent year-on-year increase, as Shenzhen prepares for the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Week.

With the event approaching, all 25 APEC-dedicated channels across Shenzhen's ports in south China have been opened to facilitate the entry of participants and media from APEC member economies.

The upgraded Huanggang Port is operating smoothly, with its single-day passenger flow recently hitting the highest level since 2019.

At Huanggang Port, travelers now only need to queue once and present their documents once to complete immigration procedures for both sides.

"Usually it takes about one minute to go through customs on both sides. My fastest time was 36 seconds," said a passenger from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Huanggang Port is the only 24-hour land passenger port between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Since November, Shenzhen's ports have opened a total of 25 APEC-dedicated inspection channels. Among them, the Huanggang Border Inspection Station has processed 14,000 trips of foreign nationals from APEC economies, a month-on-month increase of 102 percent. "Facing the continuous high passenger flow, the Huanggang Border Inspection Station has strengthened early warning and analysis, continuously enhanced communication and coordination with the Hong Kong side, cross-border operating units, and foreign affairs departments, and reinforced our multilingual service team to ensure efficient and smooth customs clearance," said Yang Huan, staff member at the Huanggang Border Inspection Station.

As China's largest single port building and the world's largest land port complex, the facility covers a total floor area of 689,700 square meters, featuring four underground and five above-ground floors.

The original Huanggang Port, which opened in 1989, was China's first large-scale land port with 24-hour clearance. Reconstruction on the original site began in 2019 to meet the surging demand for cross-border passage.

Upgraded Huanggang Port handles over 3.44 million passenger trips in first month