China announced new interim measures to strengthen the recycling and lifecycle management of used power batteries from new energy vehicles (NEVs). The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with five other departments, will assign digital IDs to each battery, effective April 1, 2026.
The move comes as NEV production and sales surged past 16 million units in 2025, exceeding half of China’s domestic vehicle market. With early-generation batteries reaching the end of their service life, the volume of retired batteries is expected to exceed 1 million tonnes by 2030, creating an urgent need for comprehensive recycling policies.
The interim measures establish a “full-channel, full-chain, and full-lifecycle” management system, including a national NEV battery traceability platform. China has also launched campaigns to prevent illegal dumping and unsafe disposal of retired NEV batteries, aiming to ensure environmental protection and sustainable development in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle sector.
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