China’s New Battery Recycling Framework: Full Lifecycle Supervision for EV Power Batteries Starting April 2026

• Establish full lifecycle supervision of EV power batteries.
• Ensure 100% traceability through a national digital identity platform.
• Mandate integrated vehicle-battery scrapping to prevent black market leaks.
• Recover critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel for resource security.
• Enforce compliance through clear administrative and financial penalties.

China just made a major move in the electric vehicle supply chain.

On January 16, 2026, six government departments—led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Gongye he Xinxi Hua Bu 工业和信息化部)—jointly released the “Interim Measures for the Management of Recovery and Comprehensive Utilization of Used Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles.”

This isn’t just another policy memo.

It’s a framework designed to fundamentally reshape how China handles EV battery recycling, and it goes into effect on April 1, 2026.

The Scale of the Problem (And Opportunity)

Here’s why this matters right now:

China’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) industry has exploded in the last few years.

In 2025 alone:

• Production and sales of new energy vehicles both exceeded 16 million units
• NEVs now account for more than half of all new car sales in the domestic Chinese market

That’s massive.

But here’s the catch—when those batteries fade and reach the end of their service life, you’re left with a growing mountain of waste.

Industry analysts estimate that by 2030, China will produce over 1 million tons of waste power batteries annually.

The country is entering what experts call the “large-scale battery retirement” stage.

Without proper regulation, that becomes a supply chain nightmare and an environmental disaster.

What the New Regulations Actually Do

The framework operates on a simple but powerful philosophy: “all channels, the entire chain, and the full lifecycle.”

Instead of treating battery recycling as a scattered, fragmented process, this regulation creates an integrated system where:

• Every power battery gets a unique digital identity
• The vehicle and battery must remain integrated during decommissioning
• Every step of the battery’s journey is tracked and monitored

Let’s break down how this actually works:

1. All-Channel Source Management: Closing the Loopholes

One of the biggest problems with battery recycling is that batteries leak into the black market.

This regulation tackles that head-on.

The measures ensure standardized management across four key areas:

• Battery production — tracked from the factory
• Vehicle scrapping — managed when cars reach end-of-life
• Battery swapping operations — monitored during battery exchanges
• Maintenance replacements — controlled when batteries are serviced

Here’s the genius part: there’s a new system called the “integrated vehicle-battery scrapping” model.

If an NEV is scrapped but the power battery is missing, the vehicle itself gets flagged as “incomplete.”

This prevents waste batteries from disappearing into untraceable channels and getting dumped or improperly recycled.

It’s a simple but effective way to keep batteries in the legitimate supply chain.

2. Digital Traceability: Creating a National Tracking System

Information visibility is critical.

The regulations propose building a National New Energy Vehicle Power Battery Traceability Information Platform.

Here’s what this system includes:

• Digital identity management for every battery
• Specific coding requirements for battery identification
• Mandatory information reporting to track battery movement across the supply chain
• Digital technology to monitor the entire flow in real-time

Think of it like a blockchain for batteries, except more centralized and government-controlled.

Every battery has a digital passport.

Every stakeholder in the supply chain—manufacturers, recyclers, scrappers, retailers—has to report its location and status.

That level of transparency makes it nearly impossible for batteries to vanish.

3. Strict Enforcement: Making the Rules Stick

Good policy only works if there are real consequences.

The regulations include specific administrative penalties:

• Orders for rectification — companies have to fix violations
• Formal warnings — public notice of non-compliance
• Financial fines — monetary penalties for violations

The framework identifies specific entities responsible for enforcement, which means accountability is clear.

Companies face penalties for:

• Failing to sell waste batteries as required
• Failing to fulfill recycling responsibilities
• Violating battery coding and reporting requirements

This turns the regulations into a rigid constraint rather than just guidelines companies can ignore.

Why This Matters for Investors and Founders

If you’re watching the Chinese tech and EV ecosystem, this is a significant development.

For recycling and battery companies: There’s a massive supply chain opportunity here.

As batteries get properly tracked and routed to legitimate recyclers, companies specializing in battery recovery, material extraction, and remanufacturing are positioned to scale.

For software and logistics players: Building the infrastructure to manage this traceability system is a business in itself.

Someone needs to develop and maintain the National New Energy Vehicle Power Battery Traceability Information Platform.

For investors in Chinese tech: This is a signal that China is serious about creating sustainable EV supply chains.

That regulatory confidence typically attracts more capital and drives industry growth.

For international companies: This sets a precedent for battery recycling regulation globally.

If you’re building solutions for EV battery management, China’s framework might be a template for what other markets demand.

The Bigger Picture

China sold more than 16 million EVs in 2025 and controls more than half of the new car market.

By 2030, the volume of recycled batteries will be enormous.

That’s not just waste—that’s raw material.

Lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other precious metals locked in old batteries are too valuable to lose.

This regulation ensures those materials get recovered systematically instead of being scattered across informal recycling operations.

It’s a play on resource security, environmental responsibility, and supply chain efficiency all at once.

And it all goes live in April 2026 with China’s new battery recycling framework driving the transformation.

References

• New Energy Vehicle Waste Power Battery Recycling and Utilization to Start Full Lifecycle Supervision – Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua She 新华社)
• Official Website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Gongye he Xinxi Hua Bu 工业和信息化部)
• China Automotive Technology and Research Center (Zhongguo Qiche Jishu Yanjiu Zhongxin 中国汽车技术研究中心)