According to the news released by @ningxiang on the evening of January 7, at about 18:11 that night, the old factory workshop of Hunan Bangpu Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Hunan Bangpu”) located in Jinzhou Town, Ningxiang City, Hunan Province Explosion and fire occurred. After the accident, the Ningxiang City Fire Brigade dispatched a number of fire trucks to fight the fire.
According to the Weibo posted by @changshafire in the evening that night, after receiving the fire alarm, the Changsha Fire Rescue Detachment Command Center immediately dispatched 9 fire stations to the scene for disposal, and then added 5 fire stations to reinforce the situation according to the scene. . A total of 14 fire stations, 36 fire trucks and 288 commanders and fighters were at the scene that night. Shows how big the fire is!
The building that caught fire was a single-story steel-concrete structure production workshop. According to company staff, aluminum powder and other substances were stored in the building that caught fire. Because aluminum powder fires cannot be directly extinguished with fire extinguishing agents such as water, foam, carbon dioxide, etc., the on-site rescue forces can only use sand, gravel and soil to cover and extinguish the fire. At the same time, water guns are used to protect the surrounding buildings to prevent the fire from spreading.
According to the latest news, at present, the fire is under control, no one was killed, all the injured have been sent to the hospital for treatment, and the cause of the accident is under further investigation.
According to the data, Hunan Bangpu was established in January 2008 with a registered capital of 60 million yuan. The company is located in Jinzhou New District, Ningxiang, Changsha City, Hunan Province, with a total area of 130,000 square meters (200 acres) and a total investment of 200 million yuan. . The main business includes: research and development, production, processing and sales of new materials, batteries and new energy; collection, utilization and sales of batteries, used batteries, plastics and non-ferrous metal wastes containing nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese; self-operated and Acting for the import and export business of various commodities and technologies (except those prohibited or restricted by national laws and regulations); design and construction of environmental protection projects.
Hunan Bangpu is currently the largest national-level high-tech enterprise in the recycling and processing of waste lithium batteries and the production of high-end battery materials. The model factory is also a key project introduced by Hunan Province to build the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan for the Integration of Changzhou-Zhuzhou-Tanzhou Economic Integration”.
The data shows that Hunan Bangpu recycles and treats waste batteries with a total amount of more than 6,000 tons per year, and annually produces nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide (ternary precursor), nickel-cobalt lithium manganate (ternary material), lithium cobaltate, and cobalt chloride. , nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate and cobalt tetroxide up to 4,500 tons. In addition to the recycling and processing of small secondary batteries, Hunan Bangpu also has power battery recycling and processing technology for electric vehicles, mainly including two types of nickel-hydrogen power batteries and lithium-ion power batteries (ternary system, manganese series, iron series). The total designed processing scale is 10,000 tons/year.
From the perspective of equity structure, Hunan Bangpu is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guangdong Bangpu Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Guangdong Bangpu”), while Guangdong Bangpu is a holding subsidiary of CATL, the largest power battery company in China. , Ningde Times holds 52.88% of the shares.
As we all know, the recycling of used batteries is an important way to obtain scarce cobalt resources. Nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide (ternary precursor) in waste batteries is the key raw material for the preparation of ternary cathode materials, and a key link between upstream non-ferrous metals and downstream lithium battery materials. In order to control the core resources, ensure the supply of raw materials, consolidate the cost advantage and lock in more profits, CATL is actively deploying raw materials and minerals in the middle and upper reaches. In 2015, CATL acquired Guangdong Bangpu to expand the industrial chain to lithium battery recycling. business.
However, because battery materials are flammable materials and are also rich in heavy metals, battery recycling companies are also faced with dangers such as fire and environmental pollution.
Regarding the fire and explosion of Hunan Bangpu, Ningde Times responded externally: “On the evening of the 7th, a fire accident occurred in the factory of a subsidiary company of our company. After we received the news, we immediately instructed Hunan Bangpu to do a good job in the rescue on the spot. and accident handling. The fire was extinguished that night. At present, Hunan Bangpu is fully cooperating with relevant departments in the investigation of the cause of the accident, and is making every effort to ensure the treatment of the injured. The company has required all units including Bangpu to strictly implement their safety responsibilities and carry out A preliminary assessment of the potential impact of the Bangpu factory accident on the company’s production and operation is limited. The company also apologizes for the social impact of the accident, as well as for the injured and their families.”
Industry insiders said that the fire and explosion of Hunan Bangpu may trigger a new round of battery material price hikes.
According to relevant data, after the New Year’s Day holiday, the prices of industrial-grade and battery-grade lithium carbonate continued to rise. On January 7, the price of lithium carbonate continued its upward trend at the end of 2020 and continued to climb. On the 7th, the comprehensive quotation of the industrial-grade lithium carbonate market was around 52,000~60,000 yuan/ton, and the comprehensive quotation of the battery-grade lithium carbonate market was around 58,000~65,000 yuan/ton. Relevant lithium carbonate analysts believe that the current lithium carbonate market price still has some room to rise, but as the Spring Festival is approaching, logistics will be limited, and the purchasing sentiment will gradually slow down. It is expected that the price of lithium carbonate may still rise steadily in the short term.
It is worth noting that CATL is currently the main domestic battery supplier for Tesla Motors. According to industry insiders, basically all the waste from the Ningde era was given to Bangpu. Bangpu has also become a major source of battery materials needed in the Ningde era. Industry insiders are worried that the fire and explosion of Hunan Bangpu may indirectly affect the supply of Tesla car batteries in CATL.
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