On April 17, 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in collaboration with five other departments—the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation—officially issued the “Green Design Guidelines for Industrial Products (2026 Edition).” The guidelines systematically identify 11 priority areas for green design, covering key stages of a product’s full life cycle, including long‑life design, harmlessness design, lightweight design, energy‑efficient design, water‑saving design, material‑saving design, noise‑reduction design, space‑saving design, easy‑recycling and regeneration design, reusable design, and zero‑carbon design. At the same time, the guidelines focus on 15 priority sectors—automotive, construction machinery, photovoltaics, lithium batteries, household appliances, textiles, packaging, and others—detailing 126 industry‑specific solutions that closely align with real‑world needs, thereby achieving a deep integration of green design with sectoral requirements.

Among the key green‑design priorities for the lithium‑battery industry, the guideline specifically delineates three concrete design pathways—long‑life design, space‑efficient design, and recyclability‑and‑recovery‑oriented design—providing clear technical guidance for advancing the environmental sustainability of lithium‑battery products throughout their entire life cycle.

I. Long-Life Design: Mitigating Battery Performance Degradation at the Source

The guideline identifies two key technological priorities. First is the optimization of battery management systems. In the design of lithium‑ion battery cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, and BMSs, technologies such as cathode passivation and anode material with low volume expansion are employed; functional additives are used to refine electrolyte formulations; and precise charge–discharge strategies are devised to effectively slow down battery performance degradation. Second is thermal management design. By deploying advanced temperature‑control solutions—such as high‑efficiency liquid‑cooling systems and phase‑change materials—batteries can be kept within their optimal operating temperature range, mitigating the adverse effects of extreme heat or cold on cycle life and substantially extending service life. This long‑life design not only reduces users’ total‑lifetime costs but also decreases, at the source, the frequency of battery retirements and replacements, thereby lowering resource consumption.

II. Spatial Design: Enhancing Space Utilization Through Integrated Innovation

Space‑efficient design places particular emphasis on battery‑pack integration. When designing the battery pack, priority is given to cathode and anode materials with high specific capacity and high compaction density, and cell‑to‑pack technology is actively adopted. This approach treats the cells themselves as structural components, securing them to the pack’s longitudinal and transverse beams via adhesives or snap‑fit mechanisms, thereby eliminating or simplifying conventional module architectures. Simultaneously, an integrated liquid‑cooling plate is incorporated, effectively reducing unnecessary space consumption within the pack and enhancing both the vehicle’s overall energy density and spatial utilization. Space‑efficient design represents a seamless extension of lightweight and energy‑saving engineering, holding significant practical value in the field of power batteries for new‑energy vehicles.

III. Design for Easy Recycling and Regeneration: Building a Closed Loop Across the Entire Lifecycle

Design for easy recycling and regeneration is the core breakthrough in the green design of lithium‑ion batteries. The guideline outlines a three‑tiered technical roadmap. First, modular and standardized structural design: it encourages the use of detachable connections such as bolted joints to replace irreversible joining methods like adhesive bonding and laser welding; battery packs are disassembled into independent modules—such as cells, thermal management systems, and electronic control systems—and unified battery codes are implemented to enable full‑lifecycle traceability, significantly enhancing dismantling and recycling efficiency. Second, selection of green materials and standardization of labeling: priority is given to promoting the lithium‑iron‑phosphate battery route, with biodegradable binders employed to reduce the use of highly toxic electrolyte components; material types and recycling‑process information are marked on key components like the battery pack housing and individual cells, accompanied by QR‑code digital passports to facilitate downstream recycling and processing. Third, cascade utilization and application of regeneration technologies: retired batteries retaining at least 80% of their original capacity, after nondestructive testing, can be reassembled and repurposed for energy storage, telecommunications base stations, and other applications; wet metallurgy, vacuum distillation, and room‑temperature rapid regeneration techniques are deployed to improve the recovery rates of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and electrolytes.

IV. Policy Context and Industry Significance

The release of this guideline provides a profound response to the new circumstances and requirements of green and low‑carbon development, both domestically and internationally. Eighty percent of a product’s resource consumption and environmental impacts throughout its entire life cycle are determined at the design stage; thus, green design is a key measure for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality from the very outset. At present, the EU’s Eco‑Design Regulation has expanded its scope to cover the vast majority of products, making the thorough implementation of green design an inevitable choice for aligning with international green trade rules and enhancing the global competitiveness of China’s lithium‑ion battery products. To date, China has cultivated 451 demonstration enterprises for green product design in the industrial sector and developed nearly 200 evaluation standards for green‑design products, creating mature conditions to move from pilot initiatives to comprehensive promotion. The publication of this guideline marks a significant shift in China’s efforts toward green product design—moving from a focus on product assessment to an emphasis on design solutions.

The guideline outlines three specific design directions for the lithium‑battery industry, offering a replicable and scalable framework for green design at the technical level. It will undoubtedly help propel China’s lithium‑battery sector to new heights in technological innovation, resource efficiency, and low‑carbon development, providing critical support for the green transformation of the manufacturing sector.