BEIJING - China's recycling industry is enjoying a wealth of new opportunities driven by the growing number of used auto batteries in the country that are no longer viable for their original purpose of powering a vehicle, according to China Global Television Network (CGTN).

China maintained its position as the global leader in electric vehicle production and sales for the ninth consecutive year in the previous year. Consequently, the expanding industry has resulted in a significant surge of retired automotive batteries.

So far, the focus is shifting towards finding sustainable solutions for managing and repurposing these used batteries.

Since the Baoqing Energy Storage Station's recycling system began operating in 2021, the cumulative power generation has reached over 1.7 million kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of nearly 300,000 people.

It's expected that by 2025, China will have retired a total of about 780,000 tons of auto batteries. Re-using them for power generation is just one option to handle them.

This month, the European Union implemented a new regulation requiring 70 percent of all batteries to be recycled by the end of 2030. This increase demands on China's battery makers and recyclers as the EU is a major importer of lithium batteries from China.