ePrints

Strategic extended producer responsibility can double China’s formal electric vehicle battery recycling with improved sustainability

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Oliver HeidrichORCiD, Shannon Davies

Downloads

• Published version [.pdf]

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).

Abstract

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. China’s booming electric vehicle (EV) sector is generating a rapidly growing stream of retired batteries, most of which still enter pollution-intensive informal recycling channels. How to redirect these batteries into formal recycling remains unclear, particularly given the complex and dynamic interactions among governments, producers, consumers, and informal recyclers. Here, we develop an integrated framework combining evolutionary game theory, system dynamics (SD), Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM)-based stock-flow projections, and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to capture stakeholders’ co-evolution under expanded extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies. Under business as usual, formal recycling stagnates at around 53% after 2030. By contrast, a consolidated EPR strategy—combining early enforcement, targeted incentives, and stronger market conditions—could raise the formal recycling share above 92% by 2060 while reducing environmental damage by 44%–73%. These findings highlight the urgency of strengthening EPR systems, repositioning informal recyclers as flexible collectors, and aligning with stricter international regulations to build a robust formal recycling system.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Wang H, Feng K, Sun L, Heidrich O, Davies SH, Yang F, Li J, Wang P, Zhang N

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: One Earth

Year: 2026

Volume: 9

Issue: 5

Print publication date: 15/05/2026

Online publication date: 06/05/2026

Acceptance date: 13/04/2026

Date deposited: 26/05/2026

ISSN (print): 2590-3330

ISSN (electronic): 2590-3322

Publisher: Cell Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101701

DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2026.101701

Data Access Statement: All datasets supporting the results of this study are publicly available or presented in the main text or supplemental information. [For the full Data Availability Statement, please see the article.]

Altmetrics

Funding

Share