India makes measured-capacity testing mandatory for cells

India now wants a measured capacity number, not a printed one. A MeitY order dated 3 February 2026 makes rated-capacity verification mandatory for lithium cells and batteries registered under IS 16046 (Part 2):2018, requiring an actual discharge-performance test at 20°C per Clause 7.3.1 of IS 16047 (Part 3):2018. Existing BIS licensees have until 30 April 2027, or their licence expiry if sooner, to comply.

Certification-India

Australia's home-battery rebate now steps down twice a year. Since 1 May 2026 the Cheaper Home Batteries Program pays out on a six-monthly step-down instead of an annual one, and a new tiered structure gives larger batteries a lower rebate per kWh; the budget was expanded from about A$2.3bn to A$7.2bn over four years in the 13 December 2025 announcement, with eligibility still running through Clean Energy Council approval (now phasing in SA TS 5398).

Clean Energy Council

MIIT reopened its lithium-battery manufacturing whitelist, and added ongoing reporting. Directive 工电子函〔2026〕45号, issued by MIIT's Electronic Information Division in June 2026, reopened applications for the 锂离子电池行业规范条件 (lithium-ion battery industry norm conditions) list; companies apply online at ldchy.cn, and firms already on the list must now file monthly operating reports and annual self-assessments or face adjustment or removal. This is the manufacturing-capability list, separate from the second-life recycling whitelist.

Hunan provincial reprint of the MIIT notice

Gotion locked in a solid-state line, for 2030, not next year. Volkswagen-backed Gotion has finalized the design of a 2 GWh all-solid-state "Jinshi" line (sulfide electrolyte, 350 Wh/kg at cell level, a 0.2 GWh pilot running at 90% yield) and is scaling its 300 Wh/kg "G-Yuan" semi-solid battery toward 12 GWh, aiming for small-batch EV integration by end-2026 and mass production by 2030.

CarNewsChina

The big storage cell has forked, and the difference is one amp-hour. The large-format ESS cell has split into two near-identical camps: CATL and Hithium back the 587 Ah general-purpose cell, in mass production since June 2025, while REPT Battero, CALB and Cornex back a 588 Ah cell tuned for long duration and a claimed 10,000-plus cycles. Both store about 1.88 kWh.

ESS News

China wrote an accuracy rule for the battery-health number. GB/T 46991.1-2025, published 31 December 2025 and effective 1 July 2026, introduces a State of Available Energy (SOCE) health readout whose displayed value must sit within 5% of the physically measured value, and it specifies minimum residual-capacity floors of 82% at 5 years / 100,000 km, 75% at 8 years / 160,000 km and 70% at 10 years / 200,000 km. It is a recommended standard (GB/T), not a mandatory one, but it gives the used-cell market a common yardstick.

electrive

China's recycling rules dropped "echelon use" and mandated a Digital ID. The Interim Measures for the Management of Recycling and Comprehensive Utilization of Waste NEV Traction Batteries, jointly issued 16 January 2026 by MIIT, NDRC, MEE and others, took effect 1 April 2026. They abandon the term "echelon use", explicitly ban reusing waste traction batteries in e-bikes, mandate a national traceability platform keyed to a battery "Digital ID", and require end-of-life NEVs to be scrapped with their batteries intact (except swap models).

SESEC

Verify the batch when it arrives. The traceability code printed on a Chinese-made cell can only be read once the goods are in your hands. When a delivery lands, paste a code into the decoder: it returns the manufacturer, chemistry, spec and exact production date in seconds, enough to catch relabeled or aged stock before you sign off the batch.