Four "hidden concerns" plagued the development of lead-acid battery industry

China is a major producer of lead-acid batteries. However, if it is to become a powerful country, there is still a gap between it and advanced countries in the world. Industry insiders say that there are still four major concerns concerning the development of the lead-acid battery industry.

The comprehensive media reported on September 21 that in the past five years, China's lead-acid battery production and exports have maintained an average annual rate of 19.9% ​​and 22.8%. More than 25% of lead-acid battery production in the world is concentrated in China. China is lead-acid. Large-capacity battery production, but to become a strong country, and the world's advanced countries still have a gap. At the “Shanghai Lead-Zinc Summit” in 2010, Zhang Songping, deputy general manager from Zhejiang Tianneng Battery, gave an incisive analysis of the status quo and major issues of the lead-acid battery industry in China.

Lead-acid batteries are the main downstream applications for lead metal, accounting for more than 70% of lead metal consumption.

Zhang Songping analyzed the lead-acid battery industry and considered that the major concerns are in the following four aspects.

First, the company is small and scattered. He believes that the industry has low barriers to entry and lax examination, resulting in a large number of low-level redundant construction, the product structure is extensive, some small enterprise equipment and environmental protection facilities are backward, the production cost is low, the product quality is poor, and they participate in market competition at a low price, resulting in excess capacity. Market confusion and environmental pollution have both wasted resources and affected the reputation of the lead-acid battery industry.

The second is raw material price fluctuations. The domestic lead market is a seller's market, that is, upstream companies hold the right to speak of lead prices. As lead in domestic futures has not been listed, domestic lead prices have frequently been constrained by LME lead prices. At the same time, domestic companies are unable to do lead futures hedging to hedge against the risk of cost fluctuations, causing downstream companies to worry about losing the cheap advantage of lead-acid batteries as lead prices rise. In addition, the country is vigorously supporting the development and application of new energy. The maturation of new types of batteries such as nickel-hydrogen batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and lithium-polymer batteries will bring great market impact to lead-acid batteries.

The third is environmental pressure. The production of lead metal in the production and storage of the problem of strong pollution, coupled with the fact that a few lead-acid battery plant environmental quality does not pass, so that the public produce lead pollution and lead acid battery misunderstanding. In fact, the risk of high pollution does not equal to environmental pollution. As long as the company strictly follows the national environmental protection regulations, it can completely control pollution. In the United States, for example, the amount of lead used in lead-acid batteries accounts for more than 95% of the total lead used in the country. However, due to sound laws and effective management, lead emissions from lead-acid battery production account for only 1.5% of total emissions. . In 2008, the U.S. government had excluded lead-acid battery production from the major sources of lead pollution.

Fourth, research and development capabilities need to be improved. Compared with foreign advanced lead-acid battery technology, the technology research and development process of domestic lead-acid battery industry is always stuck with environmental issues. Zhang Songping deeply regrets this kind of defamation. In the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan, US$68.6 million was allocated to support the development of new lead-acid batteries. Domestic lead-acid batteries have been excluded from the financial subsidy policy for the development of new energy vehicles. At the same time, the research and development of lead-acid batteries in China has created a big gap with the advanced technologies of developed countries. At present, some high-end application markets have been monopolized by foreign products, and in the long run, China's lead-acid battery market will face the risk of being eroded. .