Banning Electric Bikes! Six Departments Jointly Regulate the Recycling and Utilization of End-of-Life Power Batteries Across the Entire Chain

The Administrative Measures shall come into force on April 1, 2026, and four existing related regulations shall be repealed simultaneously, providing new institutional guidelines for the development of new energy vehicles and power battery industries.

Wang Peng, Director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Resources Utilization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry in recent years, NEV power batteries have entered a stage of large-scale decommissioning, necessitating further standardization of recovery and comprehensive utilization activities. Adhering to a problem-oriented approach, the "Administrative Measures" focus on the recovery, comprehensive utilization, and related activities of scrap power batteries. The measures place particular emphasis on strengthening information traceability management, recovery management, and comprehensive utilization management of power batteries, while clearly defining supervisory responsibilities and legal liabilities.

Notably, the "tiered utilization" concept is explicitly removed in the "Administrative Measures," meaning that products resulting from the dismantling of used power batteries must meet the quality standards required in their respective fields.

Wang Peng revealed that to eliminate potential misunderstandings by businesses and consumers, the "Measures" clearly stipulate that no organization or individual shall use used power batteries from new energy vehicles in electric bicycles during this process.

In recent years, China's new energy vehicle industry has developed rapidly, with production and sales continuing to climb. In 2025, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 16.626 million and 16.49 million units respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 29% and 28.2%. As the power batteries in new energy vehicles sold and used experience capacity degradation and enter their retirement period, the generation of used power batteries is constantly increasing. In the future, China will usher in a large-scale retirement phase for power batteries. According to estimates by relevant research institutions, the generation of used power batteries in 2030 will exceed 1 million tons.

A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that the recycling and utilization of waste power batteries are crucial for ecological environment protection, the safety of people's lives and property, and the high-quality development of China's new energy vehicle and power battery industries.

Looking back, in February 2025, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Improving the Recycling System of New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), requiring the accelerated formulation of relevant laws and regulations to standardize recycling and utilization through legal means.

The official stated that the "Administrative Measures" represent a key initiative to implement the "Action Plan," adhering to the fundamental management approach of "covering all channels, the entire chain, and the full life cycle."

Specifically, the "Management Measures" aim to comprehensively regulate the sources of retired power batteries across all channels, including battery production, vehicle scrapping, battery swap operations, and maintenance and replacement. It particularly focuses on designing systems such as "integrated vehicle-battery scrapping" to prevent situations where the flow of retired power batteries becomes untraceable.

Regarding chain management, the "Administrative Measures" clearly define the responsibilities and obligations of various entities in all stages of battery production, sales, repair, replacement, dismantling, recycling, and comprehensive utilization.

In terms of life-cycle management, the "Administrative Measures" have established a national traceability information platform for power batteries of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and a digital identity management system. They specify requirements for power battery coding and information reporting, utilizing digital technologies to strengthen the monitoring of power battery flows.

Specifically, it includes four measures: First, clarifying that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council, will establish a national traceability information platform for new energy vehicle power batteries to promote life-cycle flow monitoring and information-based traceability of power batteries; second, stipulating that power battery enterprises should code and label the power batteries they produce or import in accordance with relevant national standards; third, stipulating that power battery enterprises, new energy vehicle manufacturers, and other entities should promptly report relevant information through the information platform; fourth, clarifying that the information platform should legally fulfill its obligations for network security and data security protection.

In terms of strengthening supervision, the "Administrative Measures" clearly stipulate administrative penalty measures such as ordering corrections, warnings, and fines for behaviors such as failing to hand over used power batteries as required, failing to fulfill recycling responsibilities, and violating coding and information reporting requirements. The "Administrative Measures" also specify the implementing bodies for administrative penalties, enhancing the rigid constraints of the system.

The management of retired power battery recycling has attracted significant market attention. The "Management Measures" emphasize the need to clarify the recycling responsibilities of power battery enterprises and new energy vehicle manufacturers. Simultaneously, it stipulates that the construction of recycling service outlets must comply with laws, administrative regulations, and mandatory standards regarding urban and rural construction planning, environmental protection, and production safety.

In terms of comprehensive utilization, the "Measures for Administration" clarifies that engaging in activities related to the comprehensive utilization of waste power batteries must comply with laws and regulations concerning resource comprehensive utilization, environmental protection, and work safety, and complete procedures such as project approval and pollutant discharge permits. At the same time, it is prohibited to use waste power batteries directly or after processing in other fields prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, and mandatory standards.