CHINA very active in trying to encourage developing parts of the world to handle lead properly,” he said. “China is certainly putting in far more regulations, and lead battery production and recycling have really improved over the last few years with a lot more US companies going in to China. There are very large plants there now that have even better facilities than those in the US because they are so new.” Stalwarts of the lead-acid battery industry are vehement that one of the major downfalls of lithium-ion batteries is that they are not recycled. But, says chief technology officer at CATL Bob Galyen, who is also NAATBatt president, it is the very growth of the lithium-ion battery industry that will make its recyclability viable. “Recycling lithium batteries has had a major push over the last year and a half, starting with the NAATBatt conference at the University of Michigan in December,” he told BI. CATL hosted the Workshop on Advanced Battery Recycling 2017, which over two days laid bare the latest in recycling lithium in what was described as “the most comprehensive international conference focused on high-voltage lithium-ion battery recycling to date”. “We brainstormed why lithium-ion is not recyclable, and the main thing is lack of volume. The total amount of lithium batteries compared with lead is still very small so first there needs to be larger volumes to justify the costs. The amount of material that comes back — aluminium — copper — not major players. But as we see the volume ramping up, there is more nickel, cobalt and manganese. There is now a higher ratio of companies using NMC and as those volumes increase there will be even more reason to recycle.” It would seem that recycling companies in China are interested, which was confirmed by the appearance of the little-known Chinese recycler Brunp presenting at the conference. “Recycling lithium-batteries is still very much in its early stages,” says Galyen. “But it can only get better because if you match up the volume growth curve of batteries being produced now, within a three- to five-year time frame the volume’s going to go up exponentially. “There isn’t an aftermarket yet, but five to eight years from now there will be enormous volume.”
84 • Batteries International • Summer 2017
“China is certainly putting in the regulations, and lead battery production and recycling have really improved over the last few years with a lot more US companies going in to China. There are very large plants there now that have even better facilities than those in the US because they are so new” — Steve Binks, ILA CLIMATE CHANGE, CHINA AND THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD The US withdrawal of the Paris accord will offer an unprecedented opportunity for China, the biggest carbon emitter and the biggest renewable energy supplier, to ascend in leading global climate affairs, according to Frank Yu, Principal Consultant APAC Power & Renewables, Wood Mackenzie. “We are going to see closer cooperation between China and the European Union in accelerating the energy transition into a low-carbon economy. China would accelerate kicking off its national carbon trading market by learning from the Emission Trading System, and lend more support to help climatically vulnerable countries. “Many US companies who are climatically accountable would likely relocate their renewable technology
R&D centres to Asia. By leveraging the strong manufacturing value chain in China and other Asian countries, cost of renewables could fall even faster and penetrate more rapidly to displace dirty fossil fuel such as coal in key Asian markets. “With less renewable investment opportunities in America, Asia could get more attention from green capital funds. This will help for countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam which needs foreign capital to boost their renewable goals. “China would also like to extend its influence further into making new orders of globalization — founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and championing the Belt and Road Initiative are clear signs underpinning its ambition as a global leader.”
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