Data "going up the chain" to assist in the cascade utilization of retired batteries - digital technologies such as blockchain empower industrial upgrading

Original title: Data "on the Chain" Helps Retired Battery Cascade Utilization - Digital technologies such as blockchain empower industrial upgrading

With the rapid development of industries such as new energy vehicles, the issue of battery recycling is receiving increasing attention. China has entered a large-scale retirement period for power batteries, and relevant institutions predict that the retired power batteries will reach 590000 tons by 2023.

The traditional "spot check" method for retired batteries is costly and difficult to achieve efficient and accurate judgment of the remaining battery capacity. Nowadays, with the assistance of blockchain technology, battery cascade utilization is achieved through data "uplink". Blockchain has given new life to retired batteries and has become a typical footnote in the upgrading of industries empowered by emerging digital technologies.

Chain on battery data

In a factory in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, a blockchain communication module with a length and width of 3 centimeters is installed on the circuit board by a mounting machine, and a circuit board with a "chain up" function is completed. Here, the maximum daily production capacity of blockchain circuit boards exceeds 30000 pieces.

After being taken offline from the factory, the blockchain circuit board was transported to a scientific and technological innovation enterprise called Dudu, which specializes in electric two wheeled vehicle battery swapping. The circuit board and new energy batteries were packaged together to form a battery management system. The power, voltage, charging and discharging times, battery health, and other data of each battery cell are recorded on the blockchain, and the source of the data is reliable and cannot be tampered with.

Industry insiders told reporters that the degree of battery loss varies depending on the type of battery. The traditional approach is to disassemble the battery pack, test each cell, select suitable ones, and reassemble them into a new battery pack. And more recycling companies that lack corresponding technology and manpower can only dismantle and crush retired batteries as waste, and directly sell the heavy metals in the batteries.

Ant Chain integrates blockchain and IoT technology to launch reliable uplink modules and chips, which are installed on the battery management system to enable the source of battery data to be connected to the chain. The recycling party does not need to disassemble them one by one to understand all the data of the battery, ensuring safety and achieving cascade utilization. "Liao Zhicheng, founder of Dudu Power Exchange, told Economic Reference Daily.

In addition, based on reliable data, battery recycling companies can also determine the price range for battery recycling two years in advance. Through the analysis and prediction of battery data on the upper chain, the best operation and recycling strategy for the battery holder can be provided in advance, such as how many times the battery is charged and discharged before recycling. According to calculations, recycling and reuse can increase the efficiency of a battery by 20% to 30%, "said Liao Zhicheng.

The reporter learned that new energy battery users and recycling companies such as electric two wheeled vehicle leasing and battery swapping can use this battery "up chain" solution to improve the quality and efficiency of renewable utilization. As a blockchain platform for new energy equipment, the Ant Chain platform has over 9 million new energy devices on the chain, including two wheeled vehicles, power batteries, and new energy four wheeled vehicles.

Battery cascade utilization

In recent years, the recycling and utilization of new energy batteries has received increasing attention. China has entered a large-scale retirement period for power batteries, and relevant institutions predict that the retired power batteries will reach 590000 tons by 2023, and from 2028 onwards, the retired power batteries will exceed 2.6 million tons per year.

Battery cascade utilization7080

In addition, retired batteries are also an important source of upstream raw materials for batteries such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Optimistically, it is expected that in more than 20 years, the materials recycled through power batteries will fully meet the requirements for producing new batteries, "said Yang Lin, Secretary General of the Battery Recycling Committee of the China Electronics Energy Conservation Technology Association.

In 2022, the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Recycling System for Waste Materials issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments proposed to improve the informatization level of the waste material recycling industry, support recycling enterprises to use modern information technologies such as the Internet, the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, and build a full chain business information platform and recycling traceability system.

Currently, blockchain can accurately record the battery life cycle, which has a positive impact on efficient circulation, utilization, and recycling, "said Chen Zhong, director of the Blockchain Research Center at Peking University.

Activate battery value

In fact, the "up chain" of battery data not only helps to reduce costs and increase efficiency in battery recycling, but also is used in more scenarios such as corporate financing, helping technology companies like Dudu to "go light".

The core of developing the battery swapping business is to buy batteries and rent them out, "said Liao Zhicheng. If calculated at 1000 yuan per battery, 200000 users would need to prepare more than 200 million yuan in battery assets. By using battery data 'up the chain' in financing scenarios, investors can more accurately, reasonably, and quickly evaluate battery value, and provide financial support to enterprises with greater confidence.

With the 'up chain' of battery data, Dudu Exchange obtained a 20 million yuan operating lease loan credit, and the comprehensive financing interest rate decreased from 10% to 6%, greatly reducing financing costs, "said Liao Zhicheng.

Most technology innovation enterprises often hold a large amount of technology assets that cannot be measured, confirmed, or used, "said Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank. Blockchain has activated the value of assets such as batteries, and applications such as blockchain and the Internet of Things can effectively solve the trust problem between enterprises, financial institutions, and platform parties, allowing financial institutions to focus their risk control from being difficult to quantify The credit of enterprises that are difficult to evaluate is transferred to technology assets that can be measured, judged, and confirmed, truly making technology assets a source of credit for enterprises. (Reporter Wang Zixu from Shenzhen)

(Economic Reference News)