Recently, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the "Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the "Management Measures"), following the basic idea of "omnichannel, full chain, and full life cycle" management, providing legal basis for strengthening the management of power battery recycling and utilization. The key design is the "vehicle electric integrated scrapping" system, which specifies that when scrapping new energy vehicles, power batteries should be included; Establish a digital identity card management system for new energy vehicle power batteries, and use digital technology to strengthen the monitoring of power battery flow. Industry insiders have stated that the "Management Measures" stipulate that power battery and new energy vehicle production enterprises should implement extended producer responsibility, strengthen information sharing and collaboration between upstream and downstream of the industry chain, and take the lead in building a recycling system. This marks a new stage of rule of law in the management of power battery recycling, and the industry will further move towards a greener and more sustainable future under policy guidance. The power battery is the core component of new energy vehicles. When the capacity of the battery deteriorates to a certain extent during use, it will enter the retirement stage and needs to be recycled. Wang Peng, Director of the Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, introduced that according to relevant research institutions, China is about to enter the stage of large-scale retirement of power batteries. By 2030, the amount of waste power batteries generated that year is expected to exceed 1 million tons. In February 2025, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Improving the Recycling and Utilization System of New Energy Vehicle Power Batteries" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), requiring the acceleration of the formulation of relevant laws and regulations, and the standardization of recycling and utilization through legal means. The Management Measures are an important measure to implement the Action Plan, adhering to the basic idea of "omnichannel, full chain, and full life cycle" management. Specifically, firstly, we will strengthen the standardized management of various sources of waste power batteries, such as battery production, vehicle scrapping, battery replacement operations, and maintenance and replacement, across all channels. We will focus on designing systems such as "vehicle electric integrated scrapping" to prevent situations where the flow of waste power batteries is difficult to control. The second is to clarify the responsibilities and obligations of all parties involved in the production, sales, maintenance, replacement, disassembly, recycling, and comprehensive utilization of batteries throughout the entire chain. Thirdly, we will strengthen information traceability management throughout the entire lifecycle, establish a national new energy vehicle power battery traceability information platform, establish a digital identity card management system for new energy vehicle power batteries, clarify requirements for power battery coding and information reporting, and use digital technology to enhance power battery flow monitoring. Hu Song, a senior expert at China Automotive Data Co., Ltd., told reporters that a major change in the "Management Measures" compared to previous policies is the clarification that "comprehensive utilization" refers to the activities of dismantling, crushing, sorting, smelting and other treatments of waste power batteries for resource utilization. No organization or individual shall use waste power batteries for electric bicycles or other fields prohibited by laws, administrative regulations, and mandatory standards. These changes send a clear signal that we no longer adhere to the principle of "cascading utilization before recycling", and that comprehensive utilization is equivalent to "recycling". The corresponding regulatory basis for the use of waste power batteries in other fields is also more clear. It is worth noting that the recycling chain of waste power batteries is long and involves multiple parties. The "Management Measures" provide detailed regulations on the responsibilities and obligations of power battery enterprises, new energy vehicle production enterprises, and other related enterprises. Wang Peng stated that as producers of power batteries and new energy vehicles, power battery companies and new energy vehicle manufacturers should bear extended producer responsibilities mainly including strengthening product ecological design and assuming the responsibility of recycling as a "bottom line". Other related enterprises should also fulfill their corresponding responsibilities at various stages. For example, battery swapping service enterprises, motor vehicle maintenance enterprises, and scrapped motor vehicle recycling and dismantling enterprises should hand over the dismantled waste power batteries to comprehensive utilization enterprises for standardized comprehensive utilization, or to recycling service outlets legally established by power battery and new energy vehicle production enterprises for recycling. Ming Yuebin, Vice President of Batrui Technology Co., Ltd., mentioned in an interview with reporters that from an industry perspective, the most noteworthy aspect of this policy is the market regulation and management of the battery waste disposal process, including the standardization of recycling channels and the clarification of the qualifications of recycling entities. In the past, the industry had lower barriers to entry, leading to a situation where 'bad money drives out good money'. The new "Management Measures" will gradually eliminate enterprises that do not meet environmental and safety requirements by strengthening supervision of the recycling and post-treatment processes, and promote the long-term healthy development of the industry. ”Ming Yuebin said. In addition, the "Management Measures" also strengthen regulatory measures, setting administrative penalties such as ordering correction, warning, and fines for behaviors such as failure to sell waste power batteries as required, failure to fulfill recycling responsibilities, and violation of coding and information reporting requirements, and clarifying the implementing subject of administrative penalties to enhance the rigid constraints of the system. It is reported that in the next step, relevant departments will promote and implement the "Management Measures", create a good atmosphere for the standardized development of the industry, and accelerate the improvement of the recycling and utilization system for new energy vehicle power batteries. (New Society)