The Government of China’s Hunan Province has called for domestic policies to support a speeding-up of the industrial development of lead-acid batteries.
Hunan said in an official statement that this is a crucial period for lead-acid battery technology, as China’s national Government plans to reduce subsidies for new energy vehicles by 20% compared to 2016 levels – phasing out subsidies completely by 2020.
The Province has suggested the “joint development” if the country’s battery industry, such as forming an expert group to “diagnose the emergence of new situations and problems during the process of industrial development”. The group would be expected to propose new policies and measures to ensure production safety, meet environmental protection standards and accelerate the development of the battery industry. Hunan also suggested that future financial policies could be used to give support to the battery industry.
In addition, Hunan said it plans to introduce a batch of battery enterprises, involving participation by foreign firms, especially in the manufacture of battery cells and separators, to improve the battery industry chain and build the local brand, while encouraging new technologies, new processes, new equipment and new materials to “intelligentise” battery products.
Hunan’s proposals follow a recent announcement by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which reportedly warned the battery sector “is currently finding it difficult to keep up with demand” from new energy vehicle manufacturers.
