This national-level specialized and sophisticated "little giant" is targeting the international battery recycling market | Trailblazers venturing ove
Introduction:
Going global is no longer an option for enterprises, but there are still many choices in the way of going global. Brand going global, supply chain going global, cross - border e - commerce... Behind each model, there are countless stories of arduous exploration by Chinese companies; North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America... On every distant continent, there are more and more international figures of Chinese brands.
From attracting foreign investment forty years ago to "going global in groups" today, Qiantang, as the main front of Hangzhou's export - oriented economy, has always been the bridgehead for enterprises to transform themselves and break through for innovation. The China Enterprises International Service Center has long been concerned about overseas markets and enterprises going global. Based on this, in 2025, we launched a new column "Wave Riders in Going Global", aiming to find benchmark enterprises going global in various fields, disassemble practical cases from a professional perspective, precipitate methodologies in the process of seeking consensus, and explore differentiated development paths in non - consensus.
The following is the twelfth article in this column.
In recent years, the export of the "new three" products has been remarkable. In 2023, it exceeded the trillion - yuan mark for the first time, which also led to an upsurge of going global in upstream and downstream industries. For example, the battery industry, which is inseparable from the "new three" products. China has 70% of the world's battery production capacity, and more than a quarter of it is for export. Whether the battery products are directly sold overseas or installed in new - energy vehicles and energy - storage systems and sold overseas, the batteries produced in China are covering the global market.
As Lin Xiao, the founder of Bostrich Recycling, said, "China, which manufactures the batteries, also knows best how to recycle them." As the exported batteries gradually enter the retirement period, the battery recycling and re - manufacturing industry will witness vigorous development. As the world's major battery manufacturer, China has a first - mover advantage in recycling technology. Compared with local overseas recyclers, China knows better about the battery production entities, manufacturing processes, and material compositions. When formulating recycling plans, it can more accurately solve the technical problems in the recycling process.
However, there are significant differences in the ecological environment of the waste - battery recycling markets at home and abroad. In China, waste batteries are circulated in the form of trading and price mark - up at each level, which belongs to the resource market. While in the European and American markets, waste batteries need to be disposed of at a cost, which belongs to the subsidy market. Therefore, although Chinese battery recycling enterprises have mature practices in the domestic market, it is difficult to succeed in overseas markets by simply replicating domestic experiences.
"The essence of battery recycling going global is not for enterprises to go out, but for technology and services to penetrate." Lin Xiao said that in the field of battery recycling technology going global, Bostrich Recycling does not simply export standardized products, nor can it apply the domestic mature model. Instead, it localizes the domestic technological advantages and develops solutions suitable for the local market.
Who manufactures the batteries
Knows best how to recycle them
Lin Xiao, the founder of Bostrich Recycling, was once a researcher at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He developed green extraction technologies for waste materials and mineral resources from the United States and around the world and won the National Technological Invention Award. During his visit to the United States, his research topic was sustainable development. With the development of the battery industry, he was in charge of several horizontal projects in the field of domestic battery materials and has cooperated with leading battery material enterprises in Europe and China for more than a decade. His technical services cover more than 60% of the domestic market share. "I participated in and witnessed the development process of most Chinese battery material enterprises in the past decade." Lin Xiao said that the intersection of academic and industrial experiences enables him to understand the recycling governance methods and policy requirements in Europe and the United States, and be familiar with the material composition, process characteristics, and industrial characteristics of Chinese batteries.
With the rise of China's battery industry and exports, the derived demand for battery recycling has also begun to grow rapidly overseas, which resonates with Lin Xiao's accumulated technologies and successful projects. In 2019, Lin Xiao founded Bostrich Recycling (the full name of the company is "Suzhou Bostrich Recycling Technology Co., Ltd."), focusing on the circular utilization of key battery materials. He said that Bostrich Recycling is not positioned as a battery recycling plant, but as a technology service provider.
According to different types of recycled raw materials (such as scrap materials generated in the battery production process or retired batteries at the end of their life cycle), and the categories of battery materials (including ternary batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries, sodium - ion batteries, solid/semi - solid batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, etc.), Bostrich Recycling customizes recycling solutions, manufactures equipment production lines, and conducts on - site operation and debugging.
For production lines that have been built by customers but cannot meet new requirements (such as changes in raw material types or upgrades in technical standards), Bostrich Recycling provides technical transformation services to help customers achieve technological upgrades. In addition to services for hardware equipment such as production lines, Bostrich Recycling also researches and provides key separation materials required for battery recycling, delivering an integrated solution of "technology + complete production line + key materials + service" to customers.
With the popularization of the new - energy vehicle industry in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, the demand for the battery recycling market is also increasing. Overseas battery recycling has naturally become a supporting demand for Chinese batteries going global. The "Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)" system implemented by the European Union clearly stipulates the principle of "whoever produces, whoever recycles", which means that when Chinese battery and new - energy vehicle enterprises go global, they need to fulfill the local recycling responsibility requirements at the same time, otherwise, they will face compliance risks.
"It is more advantageous in the market to conduct business overseas in the form of an independent private enterprise. If it weren't for going global, I actually didn't need to leave the Chinese Academy of Sciences." Lin Xiao said frankly that the original intention of founding Bostrich Recycling was actually for going global. After the establishment of Bostrich Recycling, the number of overseas customers has increased significantly. Currently, the number of overseas customers is more than three times that of domestic customers.
As a technology service provider, Bostrich Recycling does not have a large - scale staff, which is far less than that of its enterprise customers such as recycling plants. However, in the battery recycling segment, "no company has more talent reserves than Bostrich." Lin Xiao said that the talent advantage of Bostrich Recycling is mainly reflected in "diversity" and "internationalization". Most of the employees are doctors graduated from universities in Japan, Europe, the United States, etc. In addition to the Chinese mainland, some members are also stationed in the United States, Europe, and Taiwan, China.
The domestic market is a resource market
The overseas market is a subsidy market
The battery recycling industry chain is centered around "the circulation of waste batteries" and is mainly divided into three links: the generation, treatment, and reuse of waste batteries. According to Lin Xiao, the industry chains in China and Europe have essential differences in each link, which determines that domestic experiences cannot be directly replicated overseas.
Specifically, the generation of waste batteries is the starting point of the recycling industry chain. One is the scrap materials from the production end, that is, unqualified pole pieces, battery cells, etc. generated by battery factories in the battery manufacturing process; the other is the retired batteries from the consumption end, such as power batteries retired after 5 - 8 years of use in new - energy vehicles or batteries eliminated in the energy - storage field. In China, the proportions of these two types of waste batteries are roughly the same. Currently, the overseas market is mainly dominated by retired batteries from the consumption end, and the quantities of power batteries and energy - storage batteries will increase rapidly year by year in the future.
In terms of battery materials, according to Lin Xiao, there are also great differences in waste batteries generated in China and Europe and the United States. The installed capacity of domestic power batteries has shifted from being mainly ternary batteries in the past to nearly 90% being lithium iron phosphate batteries today; therefore, in the scrap market, the proportion of lithium iron phosphate batteries is also gradually increasing and is basically the same as that of ternary batteries. In the overseas market, ternary batteries are still the mainstream. Although the usage scale of lithium iron phosphate batteries has increased, the proportion is still relatively low.
Secondly, in the treatment link, generally speaking, after waste batteries are sent to recycling plants through channels such as 4S stores of main engine factories, after - sales networks of battery factories, and third - party recycling outlets, recycling plants will extract valuable metals from batteries through various recycling processes to produce primary or intermediate recycled materials such as black powder and battery - grade salts.
In the recycling stage, waste batteries in China can be sold for money, and the price will increase step by step in the circulation process. By the time they reach the recycling plant, the price is already very high. However, the environmental protection standards and compliance requirements for the recycling process in the European and American markets are relatively high, and waste batteries often need to be "disposed of at a cost". Enterprises or individuals have to pay recycling plants for the disposal of waste batteries, and the government will also give additional subsidies to recycling plants.
However, due to the high labor costs in Europe and the United States, and the electricity costs (especially in Europe) and the prices of chemicals required in the recycling process being much higher than those in China, and the prices of some categories are even several times that in China, the unit cost of waste battery recycling and treatment is significantly higher overseas than in China.
The differences between the Chinese and European and American markets in the two links of waste battery recycling and treatment lead to essential differences in the profit sources of recycling plants - the former has high recycling costs, so it is necessary to maximize the value of waste batteries to obtain greater profits; while the latter can make money by recycling batteries, but the cost of the treatment process remains high. As Lin Xiao summarized: "The domestic market is a resource market, and the European and American markets are subsidy markets."
Finally, in the reuse link of waste batteries, that is, useful products such as cathode materials and other core battery components processed by recycling plants flow back to battery factories to realize the circular reuse of battery materials. China's battery recycling industry chain has achieved a complete closed - loop. However, Lin Xiao told us that "there is a lack of large - scale battery material enterprises in Europe and the United States, and the battery industry chain is not closed - loop." Local recycling plants have not yet been involved in the direct delivery of battery - grade materials and batteries, and the local market has less demand for pole piece repair and regeneration. Therefore, the recycling process is more inclined to primary processing, and the delivered products are mostly relatively primary black powder, high - quality black powder, or battery - grade salts. Many of these materials finally return to the Asian market in various forms.
It's not about products "going out"
It's about services "going in"
Based on the understanding of the differences between the Chinese and foreign waste battery industries, Lin Xiao believes that the essence of battery recycling going global is not for products to "go out", but for technical services to "go in". Bostrich Recycling does not copy the mature processes for recycled products in the mature industrial chain in China, but develops recycling processes and equipment suitable for the overseas market, focusing on the production of products that meet local needs.
Lin Xiao found that Bostrich's market positioning of supporting the technical and service needs of recycling plants can also avoid the concerns of overseas customers about "competitive threats", and they are more willing to carry out in - depth cooperation with Bostrich Recycling.
Currently, the rhythm of Bostrich Recycling's overseas business expansion is to first establish contact with local partners through technical services. As the cooperation deepens and the trust relationship accumulates, then explore the possibility of deeper - level cooperation forms such as joint ventures. Take the disclosed Spanish project as an example. Bostrich Recycling's partner is ONCE, the largest disabled service organization in Spain.
"During the project implementation process, we first built a demonstration production line for the partner in China so that they can see the actual products. We also need to obtain the EU's CE certification, help them train future workshop directors in Europe, and coordinate the teams of Chinese and European partners. Finally, we transport the equipment to Europe for installation and debugging." Lin Xiao said. Since the partner is a disabled service organization, the factory requires more than 70% of the employees to be disabled. To ensure that the disabled can adapt to the project and the implementation of the plan, in addition to providing technical and equipment support, Bostrich Recycling also participates in the whole - process implementation and operation of the project as a shareholder.
In January 2025, Bostrich Recycling established a joint - venture company with ILUNION, a subsidiary of ONCE, and EFT - System to build a recycling plant in Spain with an annual processing capacity of 6,000 tons of lithium iron phosphate batteries, supporting the local recycling and closed - loop of lithium iron phosphate batteries in Europe. The total investment scale of the whole project reaches tens of millions of euros.
Lin Xiao said that cooperating with local enterprises can also help the projects participated by Bostrich Recycling obtain subsidy support from the local government. "If Chinese - funded enterprises go overseas directly without proper support, in an unfamiliar environment, lacking a clear - cut policy system and financial subsidy support, it will be very difficult to establish factories overseas."
According to 36Kr, recently Bostrich Recycling has completed a Series B financing of over 100 million yuan. The funds will be mainly invested in overseas project cooperation and core technology R & D. Currently, Bostrich Recycling has carried out business in more than a dozen countries in Asia - Pacific, Europe, North America, the Middle East, etc., providing industrial consulting, technical services, distributed intelligent equipment, design, development, supply, and operation of large - scale engineering projects for more than a dozen Fortune Global 500 enterprises in the energy field and leading enterprises in the domestic and foreign battery and energy fields, and has executed more than 60 projects.
The European market is the core destination for China's new - energy vehicle and battery exports. It is also the largest battery recycling market outside China, so it will still be the key market for Bostrich Recycling in the future. Although the North American market has experienced short - term fluctuations due to macro - policies, and the project promotion cycle in some countries or regions outside Europe is often long, Lin Xiao said that Bostrich Recycling will not completely abandon these markets. Instead, it will choose to adjust the rhythm moderately and make arrangements based on the local logic of "where the batteries are installed, they will be scrapped in the future".
This article is from the WeChat official account "Hangzhou Qiantang Enterprise Going Global Service Base", author: Qiantang Going Global. It is published with authorization from Qiantang.
