The power battery industry chain accelerates the zero-carbon transition - home storage

Report: In the era of omni-directional vehicle electrification, the power battery should be excellent, but also should be green. Carbon reduction has become a new requirement for rechargeable battery enterprises.

The Yibin factory of Ganfeng Lithium, a Chinese battery company, was elected as "the world's first zero-carbon rechargeable battery factory" in the "2022 Corporate Climate Action Case Book", which was officially announced at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is understood that the zero carbon factory is located in Yibin, Sichuan Province, is one of the world's largest power battery industry bases, has been the first to achieve carbon neutral in 2021, and in March this year obtained the PAS2060 qualification certificate.

Under the "dual carbon" goal, it is the general trend to accelerate the development of new energy vehicles to achieve carbon reduction and emission reduction. Power battery as a key link, its industrial chain upstream and downstream enterprises have deployed zero-carbon transformation. In the view of the industry, into the era of comprehensive electrification, the power battery should be advanced, more green. Carbon reduction has become a new requirement for battery companies.

Companies are scrambling to explore ways to reduce carbon

Although new energy vehicles have been branded as low carbon and environmental protection since their birth, they are not without carbon emission pressure. It is understood that the carbon emissions generated by the production of electric vehicles at the present stage are higher than those of traditional fuel vehicles, among which, the carbon emissions generated by the manufacturing process of power batteries account for a larger proportion.

"In the era of full electrification, power batteries should not only be advanced, but also green. According to the report, pure electric vehicles make a significant contribution to carbon reduction in the fuel cycle, and power batteries account for up to 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the whole life cycle of electric vehicles. So it's going to be particularly important for the battery itself to reduce carbon when it's fully electrified." Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Ningde Times, previously said at the 2022 World New Energy Vehicle Conference.

In this context, many battery enterprises compete to explore ways to reduce carbon, and carbon reduction in power battery manufacturing has become an industry consensus. For example, in addition to building a zero-carbon factory, Ningde Times is also actively exploring ways to achieve carbon neutrality in the whole life cycle of batteries. By September, Ningde Times has carried out nearly 140 training sessions on the upstream carbon footprint. By using professional tools and databases, Ningde Times has established the composition model of product carbon footprint and taken the lead in carrying out the calculation of product carbon footprint throughout the life cycle in the industry.

In November, CSIA announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Portuguese investment agency AICEP Global Parques to purchase the right to use land in Portugal to build a zero-carbon battery factory. In October, Vision Power announced that it would build a new zero-carbon battery plant in South Carolina to supply BMW, with a planned capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours, with production expected to begin in 2026. "Vision's mission is to solve challenges for a sustainable future for humanity, and we are committed to being a zero-carbon technology partner for businesses around the world. BMW, as a global benchmark and technology pioneer in luxury automotive manufacturing, has chosen Vision as a partner in its electrification strategy, which will enable both of us to accelerate the zero-carbon transition in the automotive sector." Vision Technology Group CEO Zhang Lei said.

Carbon footprint management on the agenda

At present, many countries have introduced strict regulations to ensure the realization of the "dual carbon" goal, which brings new challenges to the export of Chinese power batteries. The EU Battery and Waste Battery Regulation was unanimously adopted by the European Parliament in March this year. The law requires all batteries entering the EU market, including those produced in the EU, to comply with the new battery rules. Starting July 1, 2024, only power batteries that have declared their carbon footprint to the exporting country will be allowed to enter the EU market.

It is important to note that there is still a gap in the battery carbon footprint accounting standard and method, and the calculation principle of carbon emission has not been standardized globally and formed a set of national standards. Regarding this, interviewed insiders believe that our country should accelerate the establishment of power battery industry carbon emission accounting method which is in line with international standards. "The power battery industry has a high level of carbon emissions, which can be generated throughout the entire life cycle of the production process. A carbon emission management system for battery products will definitely be established in the future." Jiangxi New Energy Technology Vocational College New energy vehicle technology Research Institute president Zhang Xiang said.

Zeng Yuqun believes that the supervision of battery carbon footprint should form a global unified and internationally recognized standard. "China, Japan and South Korea are the largest battery industry clusters in the world. China, in particular, has an absolute advantage in the battery supply chain. The four main materials and battery products are supplied to the world.

According to the high-tech Industry Research Institute, the carbon footprint tracing of China's power battery industry, on the one hand, should rely on the systematic planning and standard establishment of top-level design, on the other hand, it should give full play to the experience of the leading enterprises, through the horizontal and vertical collaboration of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, jointly promote the carbon footprint management.

"Companies should take high carbon emission requirements as input from the source of battery research and development, and strive to avoid and reduce the use of high-carbon battery materials that do not meet local standards. At the same time, we will actively innovate new low-carbon battery production processes and technologies." An industry expert told reporters.

The recycling industry helps

It is worth mentioning that large-scale use of recycled materials is also one of the important means to achieve low carbonization of batteries. By improving manufacturing technology and recycling lithium batteries, carbon dioxide emissions in the production process can be greatly reduced.

In recent years, with the coming of the peak of decommissioning power batteries, the power battery recycling industry has entered a period of rapid development. By the end of August this year, the number of existing power battery recycling enterprises in China had exceeded 60,000. Tianfeng Securities estimates that the total decommissioning of Chinese power batteries is expected to reach 380.3 GWH in 2030, and the annual compound growth rate will be as high as 48.9% from 2021 to 2030, which is expected to show exponential growth in the future.

However, at present, the regulations and standards of the waste battery recycling industry are not perfect, and the recycling and reproduction links need to spend a certain cost to detect, resulting in the entire industrial chain cannot develop into a scale. "The industrial chain for recycling battery materials should be further improved, especially for recycling battery materials with high carbon emissions." The above industry experts pointed out.

At present, the power battery recycling industry is gradually forming a multi-party participation mode of vehicle manufacturers, battery manufacturers and third-party recycling and processing enterprises. "Enterprises that take the lead in the layout of battery recycling will be able to obtain more carbon emission credits and take the initiative in the market competition." Zhang Xiang said.

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