National standard formulation and revision plan project for the Safety Technical Specification for the Dismantling and Crushing of Traction Batteries Used in Electric Vehicles

With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the number of retired power batteries is increasing year by year. If different components and materials are not dismantled and crushed by scientific methods—classifying and separating them before entering chemical recycling—there are risks of short circuits, fire, and explosion, as well as the possible release of harmful gases and liquids.

Safety issues in the dismantling and crushing process include:

1. Incomplete or no discharge: If the battery is not fully discharged before dismantling, short circuits during the process may generate sparks, potentially causing fire or explosion.

2. Dust explosions: The crushing process produces large amounts of battery dust; if the dust concentration in the air reaches a certain level, contact with an ignition source or static electricity can trigger an explosion.

3. Improper manual operations: If operators lack professional knowledge and skills, using inappropriate tools or methods may accidentally touch dangerous parts inside the battery, leading to electric shock or other accidents.

4. Equipment malfunctions: Faulty dismantling equipment such as crushers or cutting machines, especially without start/stop controls, may cause accidents upon contact with batteries.

5. Harmful gas emissions: Dismantling may release toxic gases such as hydrogen fluoride (HF) and phosphorus pentafluoride (PF₅). If ventilation systems are inadequate, these gases can accumulate in the workshop, posing serious health risks to workers.

To avoid safety hazards from unregulated dismantling, the purpose of the standard is to regulate the dismantling and crushing processes for power batteries, ensuring that companies operate safely and in an environmentally friendly manner. By developing safety technical specifications covering plant layout, equipment, facilities, and personnel, operational risks can be effectively reduced, protecting both workers and the environment.

The formulation of this standard will improve the dismantling and crushing safety level in the waste battery processing industry. Targeting the above-mentioned safety issues, the standard aims to raise the technical level of safe recycling in the industry, enabling recycling enterprises to achieve truly professional processing and ensuring the healthy development of the sector:

1. Site safety requirements:

   • Hardened and impermeable flooring (in line with HJ 610), lighting design per GB/T 50034; raw material storage classified according to GB/T 26493, with dedicated staff for regular inspections.

   • Workshops should be independent enclosed/semi-enclosed buildings, divided into five functional areas: raw material, discharge, dismantling, crushing & pyrolysis, and finished product.

   • Fire-resistance rating ≥ Grade 2; emergency exits with clear signage; work platforms with guardrails.

2. Personnel safety requirements:

   • Principal leaders and safety managers must hold safety qualification certificates; dismantling personnel must hold electrician certificates.

   • Operators may work only after training and passing examinations in safety, environmental protection, and emergency response.

   • Workers must wear insulating gloves, safety helmets, insulating shoes, etc., as required; smoking and open flames are strictly prohibited at the work site; exposed moving parts of equipment must be guarded.

3. Process safety requirements:

   • Before dismantling, collect and upload battery information to the national traceability platform, and design dismantling processes according to manufacturer guidelines.

   • For pouch cells, cut openings first; for prismatic cells, destroy the safety valve before discharge.

   • After dismantling battery packs into individual cells, discharge them: structurally intact batteries by physical discharge (cut-off voltage ≤ 1.5V), others by chemical discharge (cut-off voltage ≤ 1.0V and > 24h duration).

   • Chemical discharge requires dedicated equipment and emergency wastewater collection pools, with ≥ 2 operators.

   • Crushing equipment must not start under load; stop material feed before shutdown; equipped with dust removal devices.

   • Before pyrolysis, inspect equipment; during operation, ≥ 2 operators monitor; maintain an oxygen-free or anaerobic state inside equipment; maintenance interval ≤ 1 year.

4. Equipment safety requirements:

   • Use automated feeding, integrated physical dismantling, crushing, and pyrolysis equipment; crushing/sorting/pyrolysis systems must be enclosed with negative-pressure gas collection; open-flame cutting is prohibited.

   • Ground metal parts of equipment; provide transformer protection or isolation; dismantling workbenches must be insulated, with insulation resistance ≥ 100Ω/V before battery dismantling.

   • For liquid-injected batteries, crushing/drying must be done in an inert atmosphere with oxygen content < 5%, with online monitoring, alarm, and interlock systems for temperature, pressure, and oxygen concentration.

   • Dryers must have explosion relief devices; duct airflow speed ≥ 23 m/s; dust concentration ≤ 25% of the lower explosive limit.

5. Auxiliary system safety requirements:

   • Equip site with fire safety facilities (sandboxes, hydrants, etc.), alarm devices, emergency communications, and video surveillance.

   • Raw material storage areas must have gas leak alarms, infrared thermal imaging, and smoke alarms; solid waste storage must comply with GB 18599 and GB 18597.

   • Dry dust removal systems must have explosion relief, inerting, isolation, and suppression measures; black mass conveying pipelines and equipment must be made of anti-static materials and grounded; dust collectors must operate under negative pressure.

   • During dismantling, avoid contact between metal parts and high/low voltage terminals; use spare magnetic tools to remove metal pieces from gaps to prevent short circuits and fires.

File download:

• Proposal for the Compulsory National Standard Project: Safety Technical Specification for the Dismantling and Crushing of Traction Batteries Used in Electric Vehicles

• Feedback Form for Standard Project Proposal

Original link: https://www.miit.gov.cn/gzcy/yjzj/art/2025/art_f1e9fed456de43e184788a4affa17371.html?sessionid=