China has repealed the policy on the "cascade utilization" of waste power batteries from new energy vehicles

2026-08-02 | Calvin

With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the volume of retired power batteries has been increasing year by year and has now entered a phase of large-scale retirement. In recent years, some enterprises have processed retired power batteries through procedures such as inspection, sorting, disassembly, and reassembly, turning them into battery products used in fields like backup power supplies for communication base stations. This is commonly referred to as "echelon utilization" batteries. Retired power batteries generally suffer from issues such as poor consistency and varying residual energy. If only simply disassembled and reassembled without a strict quality control process, the resulting battery products can easily cause thermal runaway due to overcharging, short circuits, extrusion, and other conditions, posing safety hazards. To eliminate such risks and regulate industry order, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), in conjunction with relevant departments, has successively issued a series of policies and standards, setting clear management requirements for "echelon utilization" activities in terms of product design, testing and performance, product labeling, and product certification. However, in practice, some enterprises have used the guise of "echelon utilization" to produce substandard battery products, making it difficult for downstream enterprises and consumers to distinguish between qualified and unqualified products, leading to conceptual confusion and misleading perceptions, and threatening the safety of people's lives and property.

To further strengthen industry regulation, in 2025, the MIIT, together with relevant departments, jointly issued the departmental regulation "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Measures"). From the perspective of safeguarding people's lives and property, the Management Measures clearly stipulate the following key requirements: First, it clarifies that the comprehensive utilization of retired power batteries refers to activities that involve resource recovery through processes such as disassembly, crushing, sorting, and smelting of batteries, and no longer includes the concept of "echelon utilization." Second, it emphasizes that battery products produced by any means must comply with the quality standards of their application fields. Third, it stipulates that no organization or individual may use retired power batteries, whether intact or after processes such as disassembly, reassembly, or assembly, in the form of battery packs, modules, or cells, for electric bicycles or other fields prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, or mandatory standards.

Since the implementation of the Management Measures, the MIIT, in conjunction with relevant departments, has carried out special joint law enforcement actions to regulate the recycling and utilization of retired power batteries. Local authorities have been organized to investigate and deal with illegal activities in accordance with laws and regulations, including the illegal sale and delivery of retired power batteries, the production of substandard battery products from retired power batteries, failure to fulfill information traceability responsibilities, illegal dismantling causing environmental pollution, and unlicensed operations. However, reports from relevant parties indicate that some illegal enterprises are still operating covertly in areas such as urban-rural fringes and villages, engaging in "echelon utilization" of retired power batteries and using the produced battery products in explicitly prohibited fields like electric bicycles, disrupting market order. Furthermore, some policy documents and standard texts issued by national and local authorities still contain content related to "echelon utilization" of retired power batteries, which is inconsistent with the Management Measures and can easily lead to public misunderstanding and confusion, hindering the smooth implementation of the management system. In accordance with the deployment of the National Working Group on the Recycling and Utilization of Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles, and to strengthen policy coordination, form a united effort, and effectively safeguard people's lives and property, adhering to the principle of "people first, life first," the MIIT has formulated the "Announcement on Abolishing and Revising Policies and Standards Related to 'Echelon Utilization' of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles and Regulating Related Industry Activities," which has been officially issued recently.

Announcement of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China

No. 20, 2026

To implement the Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles, strengthen the coordination of laws, regulations, policies, and standards, safeguard people's lives and property, and promote the healthy development of the industry, the relevant matters are hereby announced as follows:

• Abolition and Removal: The provisions related to "echelon utilization" in the "Industry Standard Conditions for Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles (2024 Edition)" are hereby abolished. The enterprise announcement management for "echelon utilization" will no longer be carried out. Enterprises that have been previously announced as "echelon utilization" enterprises will be removed from the list of enterprises meeting the industry standard conditions for comprehensive utilization of retired power batteries from new energy vehicles (see the attachment). The list of enterprises for recycling and utilization that have been announced remains valid.
• Product Quality and Usage Restrictions: Battery products produced using retired power batteries must comply with the quality standard requirements of their application fields. No organization or individual may use retired power batteries, whether intact or after processes such as disassembly, reassembly, or assembly, in the form of battery packs, modules, or cells, for electric bicycles or other fields prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, and mandatory standards.
• Standards Review: Relevant standardization technical committees shall comprehensively review the national standards, industry standards, and other standards related to "echelon utilization" of retired power batteries under their purview and expedite their abolition or revision to align with management requirements.
• Supervision and Law Enforcement: Relevant competent authorities shall accelerate the abolition or revision of policies and standards related to "echelon utilization" of retired power batteries, and collaborate with relevant departments to strengthen regulatory enforcement, investigating and dealing with illegal activities such as producing substandard battery products from retired power batteries in accordance with laws and regulations.
• Activities of Social Organizations: Relevant social organizations shall comprehensively review the names, business scopes, work contents, etc., of their own units and subordinate institutions (including specialized committees, branches, etc.). For any content related to "echelon utilization," they shall expedite adjustments and halt all related promotional activities, conferences and exhibitions, service consultations, training exchanges, and other activities pertaining to "echelon utilization."