With the rapid development of the new energy industry, the usage of lithium batteries has increased sharply, and the problem of handling retired lithium batteries has become increasingly prominent. Against this backdrop, lithium battery echelon utilization, as an effective way to improve resource utilization and reduce environmental pollution, has gradually entered the public eye and become the focus of the industry.
What is Lithium Battery Echelon Utilization?
Simply put, lithium battery echelon utilization is the process of conducting a series of treatments on lithium batteries when their performance declines in main application scenarios such as electric vehicles and can no longer meet the original usage requirements, so that they can continue to play a role in scenarios with relatively lower requirements for battery performance. For example, these retired batteries can be used in energy storage systems, low-speed electric vehicles, electric tools and other fields to achieve "turning waste into treasure".
Rigorous Echelon Utilization Process, Multiple Links Ensure Safety and Efficiency
Lithium battery echelon utilization is a systematic project that requires going through multiple rigorous links.
The first is battery collection and transportation. Retired lithium batteries come from a wide range of sources, including electric vehicle manufacturers, battery rental companies, battery recycling stations, etc. In the collection process, safety is the primary consideration. Professional recycling enterprises will cooperate with relevant enterprises to safely transport batteries to testing and processing centers through a reasonable logistics network to avoid accidents such as short circuits and fires during transportation.
The second is battery testing and evaluation. Due to the different usage histories and performance degradation degrees of different batteries, comprehensive testing and evaluation are crucial. The testing content covers key parameters such as capacity, internal resistance, voltage, and cycle life. With the help of advanced technologies such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and charge-discharge testing, the health status and remaining life of the battery are evaluated, and then batteries suitable for echelon utilization are selected.
Then there is battery repair and recombination. For batteries with utilization value but performance degradation, repairs will be carried out, such as replacing damaged cells, repairing battery management system faults, etc. After that, the tested and repaired battery cells or modules are recombined into battery packs according to rules to meet the needs of different application scenarios.
Finally, the manufacturing and application of echelon utilization products. The repaired and recombined batteries will be used to manufacture various products, such as large-scale energy storage systems, power systems for low-speed electric vehicles, etc. The manufacturing process strictly follows safety standards to ensure product quality.
Significant Advantages, Promoting Sustainable Development
The advantages of lithium battery echelon utilization are very obvious. In terms of resource conservation, lithium batteries contain rare metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Echelon utilization can extend their service cycle and reduce the exploitation of new resources. In terms of cost reduction, compared with manufacturing new lithium batteries, echelon utilization has lower costs in procurement, testing, repair and other links, making related products more competitive. In terms of environmental friendliness, it reduces the generation of battery waste, lowers the risk of environmental pollution, and at the same time reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of new batteries.
Challenges Remain, Industry Development Needs to Break Through Bottlenecks
Despite its prominent advantages, lithium battery echelon utilization still faces many challenges. One of them is the problem of battery consistency. The performance parameters of retired batteries from different sources and with different usage histories vary greatly, which brings difficulties to sorting and recombination and affects the performance and life of battery packs. Safety risks cannot be ignored either. After long-term use, the internal structure of the battery may change, increasing potential safety hazards in the echelon utilization process. In addition, the imperfect industry standards and specifications lead to uneven product quality; the immature business model, and the unresolved issues of benefit distribution and responsibility definition in various links hinder the development of the industry.
Wide Application Scenarios, Huge Market Potential
At present, the application scenarios of lithium battery echelon utilization are constantly expanding. In the energy storage field, it can be used in grid-side energy storage power stations and user-side household and industrial and commercial energy storage systems; in the field of low-speed electric vehicles, such as electric bicycles and sightseeing cars, it has begun to be adopted; communication base stations are also piloting its use as a backup power source; at the same time, it is also applied in electric tools, emergency lighting equipment and other fields.
With the advancement of technology, improvement of standards and maturity of business models, lithium battery echelon utilization is expected to usher in a broader development space and contribute more to the sustainable development of energy.
