China Pushes NEV Battery Recycling Reform for Sustainable Growth

China will strengthen management on the recycling and comprehensive utilization of used new energy vehicle (NEV) power batteries, according to the interim measures jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and five other departments on Friday.

Each power battery of NEVs will be assigned a digital identity under the interim measures, which will take effect on April 1, 2026. The move comes as China’s NEV industry has expanded rapidly. In 2025, NEV production and sales both exceeded 16 million units, accounting for over half of domestic new vehicle sales.

With power batteries from earlier NEVs reaching the end of their service life due to capacity degradation, the volume of retired batteries is growing significantly, according to the MIIT.

Industry experts note that the regulation is timely, given that China is entering a phase of large-scale battery retirement, with projected used battery generation exceeding 1 million tonnes by 2030.

Highlighting a “full-channel, full-chain, and full-lifecycle” management framework, the MIIT said that the interim measures include establishing a national NEV power battery traceability information platform and a digital ID management system.

China initiated a three-year special campaign targeting illegal dumping and the disposal of solid waste in June last year, including scrapped motor vehicles, waste electronic products, retired new energy equipment, and used power batteries.