Old energy storage battery recycling is a crucial link in the closed-loop industrial chain of new energy energy storage, and it is also an important measure to realize resource recycling and environmental protection. The service life of power station energy storage batteries is generally 8 to 15 years. After long-term operation, the battery capacity will decay to below 80% of the rated capacity, which can no longer meet the high-power and high-stability operation requirements of power stations and need to be decommissioned and replaced. A large number of decommissioned old energy storage batteries contain valuable metal resources such as lithium, iron, phosphorus, and copper, while random abandonment will cause serious soil and water pollution and waste of precious resources.

The recycling process of old energy storage batteries is standardized and professional, mainly including battery collection, detection and classification, cascade utilization, and material regeneration. First, professional recycling institutions conduct centralized and safe collection of decommissioned batteries from new energy power stations to avoid secondary damage and leakage during transportation. Then, through professional testing equipment, the residual capacity and performance of old batteries are detected and classified. Batteries with residual capacity of 40%-80% can be used for cascade utilization, such as small-scale energy storage, household power backup, and low-speed power equipment power supply, to maximize the residual value of batteries.

For waste batteries with severe attenuation and no cascade utilization value, professional pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy technologies are adopted for resource regeneration and harmless treatment. Valuable metal materials are extracted and purified from waste batteries, which can be reused in the production of new energy storage batteries, realizing the cyclic reuse of resources. At the same time, the harmless treatment of waste electrolyte and waste residues is carried out to meet environmental protection emission standards. Standardized old battery recycling not only solves the environmental pollution problem of decommissioned energy storage batteries but also reduces the production cost of new batteries, promotes the green and sustainable development of the new energy storage industry, and complements the whole life cycle management of energy storage batteries in power stations.