Why Ningde matters
CATL home base — the world's largest cell output cluster. Active names in and around the city include CATL.
Manufacturing clusters generate production scrap and off-spec cells during line ramp-up, warranty returns from early vehicles, and validation packs from test tracks. The material is usually single-chemistry and well documented, which makes it some of the cleanest feed in the network.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Serving site | Ningde — Fujian Refining Base (Hydrometallurgical Refinery) |
| Pickup SLA | 48 hours |
| Coverage radius | 173 km |
| Collection cadence | Weekly or fortnightly scheduled scrap runs |
| Regulatory framework | MIIT management measures for new energy vehicle power battery recycling |
How collection works here
We run scheduled scrap collections from plant gates and tier-one suppliers, with dedicated bins per chemistry and a weighbridge reconciliation against each supplier's scrap log. Off-spec cells that never entered a vehicle are graded separately because their value profile is different from end-of-life packs.
Loads move in Class 9 compliant transport with pre-filled dangerous goods paperwork to Ningde, Fujian, where they are weighed, logged and graded.
- Cell and pack assembly plants
- Tier-one module suppliers
- Vehicle assembly lines
- Validation and test centres
What the rules require in China
China makes carmakers responsible for recovering the power batteries in the vehicles they sell, and each pack is tracked on a national traceability platform from production to recycling. MIIT publishes a list of recyclers that meet its industry standard conditions, and batteries are expected to flow to these firms for cascade use or material recovery.
Road transport of retired power batteries follows national dangerous goods rules, with packaging and labelling set by national standards.
- Register pack codes on the national traceability management platform
- Route retired packs through the automaker's collection network or a listed compliant recycler
- Follow national standards for dismantling, cascade use and material recovery
- Keep records that link each pack's code to its final treatment
Field note
What you get paid and what you file
Settlement is quoted per pack after measured state of health, not by guesswork on age. Modules holding 75% or more of rated capacity settle at second-life rates; the remainder settle against black mass metal content.
Certificates carry achieved recovery percentages and downstream vendor disclosure for reporting under MIIT management measures for new energy vehicle power battery recycling.