The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Department of Science and Technology has released a draft 'Guide for the Standard System for Power-Battery Recycling Industry (2026 Edition)' for public comment, opening a window into how China plans to govern the lifecycle of spent EV batteries.
The draft sets a clear target: by 2030, formulate and revise more than 50 national standards, basically completing a recycling standard system that covers the entire industry chain and the full product lifecycle, and gradually forming a framework of efficient resource use, whole-chain coverage and domestic-international coordination.
Power batteries are rich in strategic resources such as nickel, cobalt and lithium. Recycling can ease import dependence and strengthen national mineral-security guarantees, making a sound standards system essential for regulating the industry, protecting strategic resources and leading technological innovation.
The proposed system is built around six parts: basic and general standards, collection-and-classification standards, physical-processing standards, chemical-processing standards, comprehensive-utilization product standards, and green-low-carbon standards. Together they would span the whole chain from 'collection — storage and transport — physical processing — chemical processing.'
With China's power and storage battery sales having soared past 223 GWh in a single month, the draft signals that Beijing is extending its industrial-governance lens from finished vehicles and cells all the way up the supply chain to end-of-life recovery — a prerequisite for truly circular, high-quality NEV development.
