Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

IN a factory in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, blockchain communication components each measuring 3 centimeters in length and width are mounted on circuit boards by SMT machines at a rate of 1.074 seconds per chip.

The factory is capable of churning out over 30,000 blockchain-based circuit boards a day.

After being taken offline from the factory, the circuit boards will be shipped to Duduhuandian, a tech firm that specializes in electric two-wheeler battery replacement.

By integrating the circuit boards with lithium-ion batteries, the company establishes a Battery Management System (BMS) for batteries.

The blockchain will store information on each battery’s electricity level, voltage, charging and discharging times, and battery health.

Shenzhen-based Duduhuandian primarily offers battery replacement services to community residents, setting up battery-replacement stations at residential compounds or e-bike parking spots on the streets.

By the end of June, the company has installed nearly 3,000 battery-replacement stations in Shenzhen and eastern China’s Hangzhou, with over 20,000 registered users.

According to Liao Zhicheng, general manager of Duduhuandian, the type of battery determines how much battery loss occurs. The conventional approach is to disassemble the battery pack, examine the health of each battery cell and select suitable ones to reassemble into a fresh battery pack.

Many recycling companies that lack the requisite technology and labor can only disassemble and crush decommissioned batteries like scrap and then sell the heavy metals in them directly, which is neither economical nor efficient, he said.

“Blockchain technology allows battery data to be ‘connected,’ Liao said. “This lowers the cost of understanding the level of loss of decommissioned batteries and enables some batteries to be sold at a price three times higher during recycling.”

Additionally, the use of blockchain technology has also helped ease the company’s financial strain in self-owned batteries. If a battery costs 1,000 yuan (US$137.33) per unit, it means that the company needs to prepare over 2 billion yuan’s worth of battery assets for 200,000 users.

By partnering with AntChain, the technology arm of Ant Group that boasts the largest productivity blockchain in China, Duduhuandian has found a way to operate battery assets without owning all the batteries.

It has leveraged the data of blockchain-based batteries in securing a credit financing of 20 million yuan, with a financing interest rate cut from 10% to 6%, according to the company.

“Through a ‘light asset’ strategy, the percentage of our self-own batteries will be reduced from 100% to 60% in the future,” Liao said.