As of May 2024, plans are in motion to introduce an updated China Lithium Battery Manufacturing Standard which puts a lot more emphasis on environmental protection, safety, and improving product quality and manufacturing processes.
The standard is still a draft regulation, but this is what we know and how it may affect your suppliers.
What we know about the draft China lithium battery manufacturing standard
China is a world leader in lithium battery manufacturing and wants to keep climbing up the value chain … and they are probably ashamed by some of the really bad manufacturers still present within their borders.
Looking at the stringent requirements of this new draft standard, it seems that the government is keen to prevent the battery manufacturing industry from turning into a kind of ‘Wild West’ and is aiming to block smaller, arguably less capable manufacturers from the market as they’re less likely to be able to conform to the standard. It’s not clear whether this will all become a mandatory standard, or if it will be voluntary (optional).
With its lithium-ion battery sector growing 25% each year currently, bringing in world-class battery manufacturing standards that drive quality and sustainability makes sense for China, and some of the following information shows that they are adopting similar levels of stringency to Western standards.
Since your Chinese battery suppliers may be affected by the China lithium battery manufacturing standard soon. Here are the key points that foreign importers need to know.
1. Cracking down on where manufacturing can take place
The establishment of lithium battery manufacturers in areas where national laws, regulations, and zoning plans restrict industrial activities will be stopped. Existing enterprises in such areas must comply with the new legal requirements or face closure and relocation. Lithium battery production will not be allowed to negatively impact ecological zones and farmland.
Is your supplier in such a zone? Are they at risk of being shut down?
2. Stricter production and technological Standards
In particular, the draft China lithium battery manufacturing standard emphasizes the importance of using advanced production technologies, energy conservation, environmental protection, and intelligent manufacturing.
Key technical requirements include:
- Electrode Coating Precision: Control accuracy for electrode coating thickness and length should be at least 2µm.
- Drying Technology: Moisture content control accuracy should reach or exceed 20ppm.
- Battery Performance: Consumer lithium batteries should have an energy density of at least 260Wh/kg for single cells and 200Wh/kg for battery packs. Power-type batteries should achieve a cycle life of 1000 times with a capacity retention rate of at least 80%.
The full list of requirements that Chinese battery manufacturers may be expected to adhere to are as follows:
- Electrode coating thickness control – 2um
- Electrode length control – 1mm
- Water content in electrode control – 10ppm
- Slit electrode burr control – 1um
- Winding and stacking control – 0.1mm
- Environmental dew point control – -30C
- Required Short-circuit high voltage test (Hi-Pot)
OCV control – 1mV - Internal resistance control – 1mOhm
- Electrode impurity control – <10ppb
- Electrolyte water content – <20ppm
- Electrolyte HF content – <50ppm
- Electrolyte Na content – <2ppm
- Electrolyte Other metal Content – <1ppm
- Electrolyte SO4 content – <10ppm
- Electrolyte chloride ion content – <5ppm
Can your supplier adhere to these requirements? If they do not know, would an audit or some on-site consultation and training be necessary?
3. Managing battery safety and quality
Lithium battery quality and safety will be more closely monitored and should improve. Manufacturers will be expected to do the following:
- Comply with mandatory battery safety standards: including those for EVs, portable electronics, and power storage devices and systems.
- Use safe production systems: in facilities, there should be regular safety drills, emergency plans, and accident response teams set up.
- Comply with international transport safety standards: Lithium batteries must meet the requirements set by the United Nations Manual of Tests and Criteria for the transport of dangerous goods and other relevant international transportation regulations.
Has the supplier already got such systems in place? If not, will they?
4. Sustainability
Manufacturers must do more to protect the environment and use fewer resources in order to become more sustainable. They should:
- Obtain pollutant discharge permits from the relevant government bodies.
- Reduce energy consumption to new specified limits, and there will also be targets for using renewable energy.
- Observe proper waste management to prevent environmental damage. Manufacturers will be expected to classify, store, and dispose of waste safely as per the standard’s requirements.
Does your supplier already take care of the environment? Are they aware of relevant laws and regulations?
5. Staff health and social responsibility
Manufacturers will need to pay more attention to health and social responsibility.
- They should create and use an occupational health management system.
- They should comply with relevant laws concerning employee benefits, such as insurance payments.
Does your supplier follow China’s social compliance regulations and laws concerning staff welfare?
6. How the MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) will oversee manufacturers
The MIIT will ensure that manufacturers have implemented these standards in the following ways:
- Doing regular inspections and compliance checks on factories.
- Publicly displaying compliance results to make factories accountable.
- Penalizing non-compliant factories with a possible ban of up to 2 years.
Is the supplier ready for such an inspection? Do you have faith that they would pass if inspected without warning?
Conclusion
China appears to be serious about bringing its lithium battery manufacturing standards up to a world-class level. The standard discussed here seems to emphasize driving domestic manufacturers to improve manufacturing processes, improve product quality, ensure safety, and protect the environment.
Foreign importers who are purchasing lithium batteries from China need to understand this draft standard and how it could affect your present suppliers if they do not or cannot comply.
If your supplier were to be shut down tomorrow, could you cope?
The worst case is that you suddenly lose your battery supply because your supplier was immediately shuttered by the authorities without warning for breaking, say, environmental rules. So, perhaps now would be a good time to check in with your battery suppliers and see if:
- They know about and can comply with this draft standard.
- They are not exhibiting behaviors which could lead to supply chain vulnerability for your business, such as outsourcing production to unknown sources.
You may also like to read related to the new China lithium battery manufacturing standard…
- What are some of the key battery standards to be aware of?
- Buying Lithium Batteries From China: Key Criteria [List]
- China’s lithium battery manufacturing industry is already a but wild. We discuss this here: Chinese e-Bike/Scooter Battery Fire Risks Are No Joke! [Podcast]
- EU Batteries and Waste Batteries Regulation (2023): How Will It Impact Portable Electronics?
- The Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Manufacturing Process
Disclaimer
We are not lawyers. What we wrote above is based only on our understanding of the regulatory requirements. We do not present this information as a basis for you to make decisions, and we do not accept any liability if you do so. Please consult a lawyer before taking action.
Editor’s note: We translated the official Chinese government document linked to in this article and based the content on our learnings from it.
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