The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued a new announcement to abolish and revise policies and standards related to "echelon use" of retired power batteries from new energy vehicles, implementing comprehensive regulations on industry activities.
This move aims to eliminate the lingering influence of the "echelon use" concept in the market and prevent companies from profiting by simply disassembling, repackaging, and passing off inferior or used batteries as new, thereby upholding market order and public safety. Echelon use batteries are those made by processing retired power batteries through testing, sorting, disassembly, and reassembly for applications like backup power in communication base stations.
As the new energy vehicle industry expands, the volume of retired power batteries has grown annually, now entering a phase of large-scale decommissioning. However, these batteries often suffer from inconsistent quality and varying residual energy. Without strict quality control, simple disassembly and reassembly can produce batteries prone to thermal runaway from overcharging, short circuits, or compression, posing serious safety hazards.
In early January, field investigations revealed merchants illegally disassembling retired vehicle power batteries and selling them under the "echelon use" label. In April, MIIT and four other departments launched a joint enforcement action to address outstanding issues in battery recycling, targeting illegal activities. The latest MIIT announcement clarifies the abolition of "echelon use" clauses and prohibits improper applications to rectify industry chaos.
A senior official from MIIT's Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization noted that the "echelon use" label has been misunderstood, as if "second-hand" products could compromise on performance and safety. Some companies exploited this by marketing inadequately tested, simply refurbished batteries as "echelon use" products, even for high-risk uses like electric bicycles, leading to quality and safety issues.
To address these problems, the announcement establishes a core principle: the key factor determining whether a retired power battery can re-enter the market is its ability to fully meet the quality standards and safety requirements of its intended application as a battery product. MIIT has previously issued policies covering design, testing, performance, labeling, and certification for echelon use activities.
On December 31, 2024, MIIT and other departments jointly issued the "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles," which redefined comprehensive utilization as resource recovery through disassembly, crushing, sorting, and smelting, excluding the "echelon use" concept. Despite this, some enterprises in rural and urban fringe areas have continued to engage in echelon use activities, channeling products into prohibited areas like electric bicycles, disrupting market order.
The new announcement abolishes "echelon use" clauses in the "2024 Edition of the Industry Standard Conditions for the Comprehensive Utilization of Retired Power Batteries from New Energy Vehicles." It stops managing echelon use companies under these conditions and removes them from the list of compliant enterprises, while the list of recycling companies remains valid. A total of 100 companies have been removed, including Shanghai BYD Co., Ltd., Tianjin Gree Sanyuan New Energy Co., Ltd., Hefei Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy Co., Ltd., Hunan Bangpu Auto Recycling Co., Ltd., and Do-Fluoride New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
The MIIT official emphasized that removal from the list does not affect the legal and compliant production activities of these companies. As long as they adhere to laws and mandatory standards, they can continue to produce qualified products from retired power batteries and compete in the market equally. The announcement integrates all battery products made from retired power batteries into the general "battery production" regulatory framework, instead of treating them as a special category.
It also reiterates a firm safety red line: strictly prohibiting the use of such products in areas forbidden by laws and regulations, including electric bicycles, electric balance vehicles, electric scooters, energy storage systems over 100kWh, power banks, and toys. Relevant authorities are required to accelerate the abolition or revision of outdated "echelon use" policies and standards, strengthen coordinated enforcement, and investigate the production of substandard battery products.
The MIIT official stressed that the announcement is not just a cleanup of policy terminology, but a profound reshaping of the underlying logic of China's power battery recycling industry, with systematic and structural impacts.