context: Amid economic difficulties, the NEV (new energy vehicle) industry continues to be propped up by the state. In combination with growing export figures in 2022, this suggests that rare earths will stay in short supply. These remarks demonstrate that high upstream prices are just one issue troubling the industry.
Several challenges in the NEV industry need to be overcome by national and international action, per remarks made at the Fourth World New Energy Vehicles Congress on 27 Aug 2022 by Wan Gang 万钢 China Association for Science and Technology chairman and World New Energy Vehicles Congress chairman. According to a report on the Congress
- problems include
- pressures in the NEV industry and supply chains
- insufficient supply has pushed up prices for lithium, cobalt and nickel
- chip shortages continue to exist
- NEV-related infrastructure, including charging stations, battery swapping stations and vehicle-infrastructure cooperation, is lagging behind
- NEVs are heavily concentrated in the east and south, while regions in the northeast and northwest are underdeveloped
- pressures in the NEV industry and supply chains
- to resolve supply chain issues, Wan suggested
- enhancing
- mining and refining tech for battery raw materials
- cooperation in managing the trading of nickel or lithium
- promoting R&D in new tech for battery material recycling
- enhancing
- Wan urged making progress in
- hydrogen fuel cell-powered commercial vehicles
- the development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
- scaling up electrification
- improving the efficiency of self-charging hybrids
- international cooperation in the automotive industry
- sustainable industry and supply chains
- collaborative development of carbon emission policy and standards systems
Wan predicted that by 2030 the potential of electric vehicles' distributed mobile energy storage will reach 5,000 GWh. This can help better absorb renewable energies, stabilise the power grid in cities and accelerate the integration of NEVs in the new power system.