With the mass market penetration of electric vehicles, the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions associated with lithium-ion battery production has become a major concern. In this study, by establishing a life cycle assessment framework, GHG emissions from the production of lithium-ion batteries in China are estimated. The results show that for the three types of most commonly used lithium-ion batteries, the (LFP) battery, the (NMC) battery and the (LMO) battery, the GHG emissions from the production of a 28 kWh battery are 3061 kgCO₂-eq, 2912 kgCO₂-eq and 2705 kgCO₂-eq, respectively. This implies around a 30% increase in GHG emissions from vehicle production compared with conventional vehicles. The productions of cathode materials and wrought aluminum are the dominating contributors of GHG emissions, together accounting for around three quarters of total emissions. From the perspective of process energy use, around 40% of total emissions are associated with electricity use, for which the GHG emissions in China are over two times higher than the level in the United States. According to our analysis, it is recommended that great efforts are needed to reduce the GHG emissions from battery production in China, with improving the production of cathodes as the essential measure.

To achieve their carbon peak and carbon neutrality target, China’s energy transition is seen as the most important instrument. Despite the rapid growth of renewable energy in China, there are still many challenges. Based on the review of the contemporary literature, this paper seeks to present an updated depiction of renewable energy in the Chinese context. The potential, status quo, and related policy of China’s renewable energy are thoroughly investigated. The challenges facing renewable energy development under the carbon neutrality target are analyzed, including enormous transition urgency and pressure, technology, and policy issues. Then, coping strategies are proposed to guide the direction of renewable energy development. Technology paths and policy recommendations are presented. This paper contributes to technology developing and policymaking by providing a comprehensive, thorough, and reliable review of renewable energy development in China.

With the rapid development of new energy vehicles (NEVs) industry in China, the reusing of retired power batteries is becoming increasingly urgent. In this paper, the critical issues for power batteries reusing in China are systematically studied. First, the strategic value of power batteries reusing, and the main modes of battery reusing are analyzed. Second, the economic benefit models of power batteries echelon utilization and recycling are constructed. Finally, the economic benefits of lithium iron phosphate (LIP) battery and ternary lithium (TL) battery under different reusing modes are analyzed based on the economic benefit models. The results show that when the industrial chain is fully coordinated, LIP battery echelon utilization is profitable based on a reasonable scenario scheme. However, the multi-level echelon utilization is only practical under an ideal scenario, and more attention should be paid to the first level echelon utilization. Besides, the performance matching of different types of batteries has a great impact on the echelon utilization income. Thus, considering the huge potentials of China’s energy storage market, the design of automobile power batteries in the future should give due consideration to the performance requirements of energy storage batteries. Moreover, the TL battery could only be recycled directly, while the LIP has the feasibility of echelon utilization at present. At the same time, it will strengthen the cost advantage of the LIP battery, which deserves special attention.

The automatic emergency braking (AEB) system is an effective intelligent vehicle active safety system for avoiding certain types of collisions. This study develops a national-level safety impact evaluation model for this intelligent vehicle function, including the potential maximum impact and realistic impact. The evaluation model was firstly applied in China to provide insights into Chinese policymaking. Road traffic fatality and severe injury trends, the proportion of different collision types, the effectiveness of collision avoidance, and the AEB market penetration rates are considered in the potential maximum impact scenario. Furthermore, the AEB activation rate and the technology’s technical limitations, including its effectiveness in different weather, light, and speed conditions, are discussed in the realistic scenario. With a 100% market penetration rate, fatalities could be reduced by 13.2%, and injuries could be reduced by 9.1%. Based on China’s policy, the market penetration rate of intelligent vehicles with AEB is predicted to be 34.0% in 2025 and 60.3% in 2030. With this large market penetration rate increase of AEB, the reductions in fatalities and severe injuries are 903–2309 and 2025–5055 in 2025; and 1483–3789 and 3895–7835 in 2030, respectively. Considering AEB’s activation rate and its three main limitations, the adjusted realistic result is approximately 2/5 of the potential maximum result.