At the National Two Sessions in 2022, Zeng Yuqun, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of CATL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., will submit four proposals, involving issues such as guaranteed supply and stable p

"Finance" New Media Wang Jingya/Written by Shu Zhijuan/Editor

Recently, due to the shortage of lithium resource supply, the continued rise in lithium battery prices has attracted much attention in the industry. At the National Two Sessions in 2022, Zeng Yuqun, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of Ningde Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., will submit four proposals involving guaranteed supply and stable price of lithium resources, new energy storage, battery carbon footprint and lithium batteries Road transport and other issues. Among them, Zeng Yuqun proposed in his proposal to promote the guaranteed supply and stable price of domestic lithium resources that the current supply and demand situation of lithium resources is severe and the industry development faces challenges, and multiple measures should be taken to ensure the security of lithium resource supply.

In recent years, lithium prices have experienced an explosive rise. Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen from 44,000 yuan/ton to nearly 500,000 yuan/ton. This round of lithium resource supply shortage has been transmitted to the new energy vehicle consumer market. Many new energy brands in the market have increased prices in response, and at the same time, delivery difficulties have arisen.

CATL stated in an interview with " Finance " new media that the reason for the rise in lithium prices is that with the substantial increase in the global penetration rate of new energy vehicles , power battery shipments will enter the next few years. The "TWh" era. Due to the rapid growth in demand for lithium batteries on the demand side, the growth of production capacity supply in the entire industry chain is relatively slow, and effective supply is insufficient, resulting in global battery supply exceeding demand.

On the other hand, although China is the fifth largest country in lithium ore resources, most of its lithium ore resources are distributed in Tibetan Plateau and other areas, and transportation is inconvenient and development is difficult, so about 80% of the lithium needs to be obtained from Imported from Australia, , Chile, and other countries. However, with the tightening of policies in relevant lithium origin countries, Chinese companies importing lithium products will also face many uncertain risks.

Regarding the supply of lithium resources, Zeng Yuqun said that the current supply and demand situation of lithium resources is severe, and domestic lithium resource exploration and development should be accelerated to ensure the safety of the supply chain. At the same time, independent innovation and technological research should be strengthened to improve the level of efficient resource recycling and utilization.

According to reports, CATL currently ensures the supply of lithium resources through long-term agreements, investment cooperation, recycling, and self-exploitation. Among them, in terms of recycling, the lithium recovery rate has exceeded 90%, and it currently plays a certain role in supply security. In addition to previous overseas investment cooperation, it has also invested in lithium resources in places such as , Yichun, , and mined lithium mines on its own.

It is worth noting that in the future, with the acceleration of clean electricity under the "double carbon" goal, the demand for energy storage will continue to grow, the implementation of policies in the energy storage field will increase at home and abroad, as well as the decline in battery costs and the improvement of cycle life. The combination of other factors has brought the energy storage market to a stage of rapid development.

Due to the large investment scale and long recovery cycle, capacity electricity price is the main means to promote industrial development. At present, the country has introduced a capacity electricity price mechanism for pumped hydro energy storage, but new energy storage still cannot enjoy the capacity electricity price policy equally, facing unfair competition, and the development speed and quality are seriously limited.

Regarding new energy storage, Zeng Yuqun pointed out that various obstacles and hidden barriers that restrict market competition should be broken down, and a capacity electricity price policy that is suitable for the characteristics of new energy storage should be established with reference to pumped storage, so as to form a stable and reasonable profit space and build a market development with fair competition. environment and promote the healthy development of all types of energy storage.

Batteries play a key role in the entire new energy industry chain. Compared with Europe and the United States, although my country has leading advantages in battery technology, manufacturing and industrial chain, there are gaps in battery carbon footprint accounting standards and methodologies. At the same time, in the international competition of lithium batteries, transportation supporting services are an important part, and it is crucial to establish a high-efficiency, low-cost lithium battery transportation system.

In this regard, Zeng Yuqun also made suggestions for establishing a high-efficiency, low-cost lithium battery transportation system. He pointed out that three measures can be taken to strictly enforce transportation access and strengthen law enforcement supervision, establish a credit-based supervision mechanism, and promote transportation classification and scene-based management and control.These measures include establishing green channels for lithium battery companies with good credit, safety and compliance, and providing incentives such as the lifting of nighttime highway ban management restrictions.

At the same time, he also suggested accelerating research on battery carbon footprints, scientifically and rationally accounting for carbon emissions, and promoting the unification and mutual recognition of domestic and foreign standards.