This month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China has released a draft for feedback on the "Lithium Battery Industry Standards (2024 Edition)", providing clear direction and regulations for the industry's future development.
Industrial Layout and Project Establishment:
The new regulations specify that lithium battery companies and projects must comply with national laws and regulations on resource development, ecological environment protection, energy conservation, and safety production. Particularly, in areas like permanent basic farmland and ecological protection red lines, the construction of lithium battery and related projects is prohibited, and existing companies must gradually relocate or dismantle according to regulations.
Image: MIIT Releases Draft for Lithium Battery Industry Feedback
Technical Innovation and Capacity Optimization:
The new regulations encourage companies to reduce the manufacturing of projects solely expanding capacity and instead focus on strengthening technological innovation, improving product quality, and reducing production costs. This is crucial for promoting industry transformation and upgrading, and optimizing capacity structure.
Production and Operation Management and Technological Level:
Companies should have independent legal personality, independent production and sales capabilities, and invest no less than 3% of their main business income in research and development and process improvement. The new regulations also outline specific production process and equipment requirements, such as electrode coating uniformity monitoring, moisture content control, electrode burr control, etc.
Product Performance Standards:
The new regulations set specific requirements for consumer, power (including small and large power), and energy storage lithium batteries, including key indicators such as energy density and cycle life. For example, the energy density of consumer lithium battery monomers must not be less than 260Wh/kg, and the energy density of battery packs must not be less than 200Wh/kg.
Safety and Quality Management:
Companies must comply with safety production laws and regulations, establish safety production responsibility systems and regulations. The safety of lithium battery products must comply with mandatory standards and be tested for compliance. For example, lithium battery products must comply with standards such as "Safety Technical Specifications for Lithium-ion Batteries and Battery Packs for Portable Electronic Products" (GB 31241).
Resource Utilization and Ecological Environment Protection:
The new regulations emphasize the importance of resource conservation and ecological environment protection, requiring companies to carry out environmental impact assessments in accordance with the law, implement the "three simultaneous" system of environmental protection facilities. The comprehensive energy consumption of lithium battery production companies should not exceed 400kgce/10,000Ah.
Health and Social Responsibility:
Companies should conduct occupational disease hazard assessments in accordance with the law, establish occupational health and safety management systems, and pay various social insurance for employees.
Supervision and Management:
Companies voluntarily prepare application materials in accordance with the standard conditions and submit them to the provincial industrial and information technology authorities for submission to the MIIT. The MIIT will organize inspections and announce the list of companies that meet the standard conditions.
Summary:
The release of the new regulations reflects the Chinese government's attention to the high-quality development of the lithium battery industry. By standardizing industrial layout, encouraging technological innovation, strengthening safety and quality management, promoting resource utilization and ecological environment protection, the new regulations will drive the lithium battery industry towards a healthier and more sustainable direction. This will not only enhance the overall competitiveness of China's lithium battery industry but also contribute to global energy transformation and sustainable development.
According to market data, China's lithium battery industry has continued to grow in recent years, with total lithium battery production exceeding 940GWh in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 25%, and the industry's total output value exceeding 1.4 trillion yuan. With the implementation of the new regulations, it is expected that the lithium battery industry will further improve product quality and safety, and promote the industry towards higher-end and more environmentally friendly development.
