Starting in July, the import of battery black mass into China will be legal as the world's first national standard for strategic black mass has been officially released

Recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China released GB/T 45203-2024, "Recycled Black Mass for Lithium Ion Batteries." This standard is the first national standard for strategic black mass in China and worldwide, spearheaded by Guangdong Brunp Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. 

The standard will come into effect on July 1, 2025.

Black mass is a critical product in the recycling process of lithium-ion batteries. It is a black or dark gray powder containing one or more valuable components, such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, produced through the resource-based processing of battery waste, including discharge, disassembly, crushing, and thermal treatment. The abundance of strategic resources like nickel, cobalt, and lithium in black mass is far higher than that in natural ores, making it a valuable "resource-rich mine."

With the rapid growth of the global new energy industry and the significant export of lithium-ion batteries as one of China's "new three major exports," the total amount of battery waste is steadily increasing, leading to a growing demand for black mass in China. However, the lack of national or industry standards for black mass products has posed significant challenges in circulation and quality testing. On one hand, varying technical capabilities across enterprises have resulted in inconsistent product compositions, making it difficult to establish unified quality requirements for circulation. On the other hand, in the absence of standards and regulations, black mass has struggled to shed its "waste" label, hindering its re-importation as a product into the domestic market and preventing the return of this precious "resource-rich mine."

The release of this standard establishes clear guidelines for chemical composition and key parameters of black mass, providing the industry with a national-level reference to ensure product quality meets green and environmental requirements. This will facilitate compliant trade and import of black mass products, contributing to the green, low-carbon, and sustainable development of the new energy industry.

Download the file: GB/T 45203-2024 锂离子电池用再生黑粉 Recycled Black Mass for Lithium Ion Batteries

The 3rd China International Power Battery Recycling Summit will be grandly held on 27-28th March, 2025 in Shanghai, China, and and will include an in-depth analysis and discussion of this standard. We welcome you to attend the event.