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“We are marching into the peak of the electrification era, staying ahead of the tech curve should not be our only concern, we should pay extra attention to staying green,” said Zeng Yuqun, the CEO of CATL, a global leader in lithium-ion battery development and manufacturing. This aligns with China’s commitment to promoting the development of the energy electronics industry, which is considered to be vital for China to reach carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, according to Consultation on Promoting the Development of the Energy Electronics Industry (Draft for Soliciting Ideas) released on August 25, 2022, by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The nascent industry is leveraging advanced electronic information technology to deal with problems in the renewable energy sector. It covers areas like photovoltaic power, new types of power storage batteries and more.
Efforts should be made to promote the research and industrial application of power storage batteries such as solid-state batteries, sodium-ion batteries, hydrogen energy storage and fuel cells. The document also highlights that it is necessary to maintain a sufficient supply of key resources such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and platinum and strengthen the development of alternative materials.
In addition, the government encourages enterprises to conduct research on calculation methods of battery carbon footprints. According to Zeng Yuqun, China has lagged behind in contributing to the study of battery carbon footprint. Europe and the United States have taken the lead in conducting research on the standards, policies and regulations of the carbon footprint of power batteries. For example, under the proposed EU Battery Regulation, electric vehicle batteries and other industries will require carbon footprint declarations from July 1, 2024. As a country with massive battery production, China should be more active in formulating regulations and standards on carbon footprints by providing massive data collected from entire battery industries and establishing a sound methodology.
For measures on how to achieve a green battery industry, Zeng suggested that one crucial step is the widespread use of recycling materials. In the first quarter of this year, CATL produced 18,000 tons of precursors from 21,000 tons of recycled waste batteries. Other measures like energy conservation and technology upgrades can also contribute to the reduction of carbon footprints. Aside from efforts made by enterprises, Zeng emphasized that governments should introduce more policies that allow consumers and manufacturers to benefit from using green batteries, e.g., introducing schemes that those who buy electronic cars with low carbon footprints can be exempt from purchase tax. These combinations of policies will certainly boost the development of a green and low-carbon battery industry.
