MIIT to Draft Regulations on Retired EV Batteries and Implement Digital ID Management

On August 26, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office under the theme series “Launching the 15th Five-Year Plan Period” that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), China will draft administrative regulations concerning the retirement of new energy vehicle (NEV) power batteries, launch joint law enforcement campaigns among relevant departments to standardize the recycling and utilization market, and implement a digital ID management system for power batteries to ensure traceability of their origin and destination. According to the recently issued "15th Five-Year Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Industrial Development" by MIIT, China aims to achieve an annual comprehensive utilization capacity of over one million metric tons of spent power batteries by 2030. Additionally, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other metals recovered from spent batteries are expected to account for 10%–15% of the raw materials required for power battery production in the same period. The plan also calls for improving the recycling system for waste lithium-ion batteries from electric bicycles, optimizing the layout of collection networks, and encouraging enterprises to reintegrate recovered elements—such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, phosphorus, and iron—into power battery manufacturing.