On April 1, China officially launched a national traceability information platform for new energy vehicle (NEV) power batteries, providing a state-level data infrastructure to support the industry’s green and circular development, according to CCTV.
The platform, promoted at the national level, assigns a unique identifier to each battery, enabling full lifecycle tracking from production and vehicle installation to usage and eventual recycling.
At its core, the system establishes a “digital identity” for each battery, integrating data across automakers, battery manufacturers, battery swapping operators, maintenance providers, and recycling companies to create a chain-based record of battery flows.
Ai Chong, deputy director at the MIIT’s Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization, said the platform will play a key role in improving the management of retired power battery recycling and is critical to enabling full-chain oversight.
The platform’s launch follows the interim regulations on the recycling and comprehensive utilization of retired NEV power batteries issued in January by six government departments, which mandate lifecycle management of used batteries.
From an industry perspective, the recycling system has already reached a certain scale.
To date, China has established around 7,000 recycling service outlets for retired power batteries, forming a preliminary nationwide network.
Data shows that in 2025, China’s comprehensive utilization volume of retired NEV batteries exceeded 400,000 tonnes, up 32.9% year-on-year, indicating rapid expansion of recycling capacity.
As NEVs sold during the surge around 2020 begin to enter later stages of their lifecycle, a growing number of batteries are reaching degradation phases.
Industry estimates suggest that by 2030, annual retired battery volumes in China will exceed 1 million tonnes.
On the demand side, rapid NEV growth continues to expand the base.
In 2025, China’s NEV production and sales reached 16.626 million and 16.49 million units, up 29% and 28.2% year-on-year, respectively, directly increasing the future volume of battery retirements.
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