Recently, the EU passed new regulations on battery products to supervise all links in the whole life cycle of batteries. The controversial carbon border regulation mechanism has also been officially adopted and will be officially implemented in 2026. In other words, the EU will officially charge "carbon tariffs" on imported products with high carbon emissions in the production process. China is not only the world's major power battery producer, but also the major power battery supplier of EU countries.
Although it is uncertain whether the "carbon tariff" imposed by the EU includes power batteries, the news has attracted great attention from power battery manufacturers. In fact, China's power battery manufacturers have already begun to pay attention to carbon emissions in the production process and actively explore carbon reduction in the whole industrial chain.
▎ new regulations and standards of battery become stricter
The proposal of the EU carbon border regulation mechanism was adopted by the European Parliament in March last year, followed by several rounds of rule amendments. This mechanism is regarded as the world's first "carbon tariff" measure. Under this mechanism, the EU will charge a "carbon tax" according to the carbon emission of imported products, so that imported products will bear the same carbon emission cost as EU local industries.
In fact, the EU carbon border regulation mechanism has always been controversial. On the one hand, the introduction of "carbon tariff" is conducive to accelerating emission reduction in carbon intensive industries, but on the other hand, there are views that the EU "carbon tariff" will push up the cost of industrial production and is unfair to developing countries.
The new EU battery regulation proposes to supervise the whole life cycle of batteries, including determining the responsibilities of battery manufacturers, ensuring the use of recyclable materials and strengthening the investigation of battery supply chain.
In an interview with reporters, the energy battery material analyst of ruizide, an industry analysis organization, said: "It is uncertain whether the EU carbon border regulation mechanism includes batteries for products related to 'direct production of carbon emissions'. If so, European importers need to buy certificates to import Chinese batteries, which will bring a huge premium, prompting European importers to prefer to buy batteries with relatively lower carbon emissions, that is, batteries produced using renewable energy."
▎ battery manufacturers are optimistic about the EU market
According to the data compiled by ruizide energy, the output of China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery in 2021 accounted for about 64% of the global share and about 20% of the market share in Europe. Other Asian battery manufacturers are also optimistic about the EU market. LG energy solutions, Samsung, ski and other companies have built factories in Europe to reduce their carbon footprint.
It is generally believed in the industry that the increasingly stringent specifications of imported battery products in the EU are likely to impact China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery products, and China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery industry needs to make adjustments as soon as possible to maintain its dominant position in the global market. In March this year, China National Chemical Engineering Co.Ltd(601117) and the physical power industry association proposed to carry out industry energy efficiency benchmarking research as soon as possible and establish a green and low-carbon parity system and platform for products in the battery industry.
according to the data of China National Chemical Engineering Co.Ltd(601117) and the physical power industry association, since 2021, the market performance of new energy vehicles has continued to exceed expectations, driving the global shipment of power lithium batteries to 296.8 GWH. As the battery directive formulated by the EU is gradually upgraded into regulations, battery enterprises must understand the new rules in advance, otherwise they will face the risk of losing the EU market.
Analysts of ruizide energy suggest that power battery manufacturers use renewable energy for production, so as to reduce the carbon footprint and reduce the power demand in the battery manufacturing process . In mining, carbon emissions are often difficult to reduce. Battery manufacturers can turn to raw materials with relatively low emissions, such as accelerating the transformation from ternary lithium battery to lithium iron phosphate battery.
China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery products have advantages
Many people in the industry said that China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery manufacturers have taken precautions to reduce the carbon footprint in the production process and maintain competitiveness.
So far, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) , vision power, honeycomb energy, Gotion High-Tech Co.Ltd(002074) and other major power battery enterprises in China have taken action. In December last year, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) company, said publicly that the application of power batteries and energy storage batteries provides key support for carbon peaking and carbon neutralization, but the battery industry should also take its own carbon reduction as an important goal. At present, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) has established a sustainable development committee, which will take the carbon emission of materials as an important consideration when purchasing. On March 23, vision power announced that it had signed a cooperation agreement with Shiyan, Hubei Province to build a zero carbon smart battery industrial park with a total capacity of 40 GW, which is also the third zero carbon battery production base planned by the company in China.
In an interview with reporters, Zhou Bo, director of the research department of the power battery branch of China National Chemical Engineering Co.Ltd(601117) and physical power industry association, said that from a global perspective, although European and American countries have accelerated the cultivation of local industrial chains, the advantages of China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery products are still obvious . "On the one hand, China Shipbuilding Industry Group Power Co.Ltd(600482) battery industry has a complete industrial chain and has better cost control ability compared with international manufacturers; on the other hand, over the years, China has invested a lot in the cultivation of power battery industrial chain and has a more sufficient reserve of relevant talents. In the future, China will also issue relevant standards for power battery carbon footprint, and the power battery industry will continue to develop healthily."
