The first batch of compliant imported recycled black powder from Shandong has cleared customs at Huangdao Port
Recently, after passing inspection, a batch of 20.48 tons of recycled black powder raw materials for lithium-ion batteries was cleared and released under the supervision of Huangdao Customs, which is part of Qingdao Customs. This marks the first shipment of recycled black powder raw materials for imported lithium-ion batteries that has passed inspection in Shandong.
Recycled black powder for lithium-ion batteries is a black or grayish-black powder consisting of one or more valuable components such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, obtained from lithium-ion battery scraps through processes such as discharging, dismantling, pyrolysis, crushing, and sorting. It helps reduce the production cost of lithium batteries and minimize negative environmental impacts, thus possessing high economic and environmental value. In December 2024, China issued the world's first national standard for "Recycled Black Powder for Lithium-Ion Batteries" (GB/T 45203-2024), and from August 1, 2025, allowed the free import of qualified recycled black powder raw materials for lithium-ion batteries, promoting its official transformation into a "resource product".
"The apparent characteristics, metal element content, water-soluble fluorine content, main element molar ratio, impurity element content, and particle size of the recycled black powder must all meet China's access standards in order to be imported in compliance," said Yang Ce, the head of the Sixth Inspection Section of the Second Inspection Division of Huangdao Customs. "We implement 'technical diagnosis + precise assistance', establish a dynamic compliance cultivation mechanism for recycled black powder import enterprises, integrate technical calibration services into the inspection process, provide 'one-on-one' on-site guidance, and guide enterprises to proactively benchmark against China's requirements to improve pretreatment technology, turning 'compliant import' from government compulsion to corporate consciousness."
As a recyclable resource, secondary metal raw materials help reduce dependence on primary metal minerals and alleviate the supply pressure on domestic metal resources. In recent years, with the continuous increase in market demand, the import volume at ports has also grown rapidly. Huangdao Customs has accurately identified the bottlenecks in the inspection process of secondary metal raw materials and innovatively launched a new model of "preliminary machine inspection and image review + concurrent radioactive monitoring" for secondary metal raw materials. This model conducts preliminary machine inspection of secondary metal raw materials while concurrently performing radioactive monitoring, eliminating the need for separate invasive radioactive monitoring. It achieves immediate unloading and inspection of goods, improving overall inspection efficiency by 50%.
While ensuring the smooth customs clearance of secondary metal raw materials, Huangdao Customs has actively established a scientific, standardized, and efficient inspection and supervision mechanism. They have strengthened the application of intelligent equipment such as large container inspection equipment and handheld radiation detection devices. In collaboration with inspection laboratories, they efficiently carry out testing of secondary metal raw materials and identification of solid waste properties, resolutely keeping solid waste out of the country. (Written by Yang Zhongcheng, Wang Dezheng)