Major Adjustment in Export Policies for Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Batteries for 2026: Small-Capacity Batteries Exempt from Licensing Requirements

December 19, 2025

Major Adjustment in Export Policies for Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Batteries for 2026:

Small-Capacity Batteries Exempt from Licensing Requirements

Core Content of the Policy

Applicable Scope: Individual lithium-thionyl chloride batteries or battery packs containing no more than 1 kilogram of thionyl chloride, classified as a Category 3 monitored chemical (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 7719-09-7).

Optimized Measures: Due to the low thionyl chloride content, difficulty in disassembly, and the near-impossibility of reverse extraction of thionyl chloride, the diffusion risk of the aforementioned batteries or battery packs is extremely low. As a result, they are no longer classified as monitored chemicals and do not require the associated licensing documents. Enterprises need only truthfully declare the thionyl chloride content in the specification/model column of the customs declaration form.

Other Cases: Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries or battery packs not covered by this policy will still require approval for import and export according to the original regulations.

Industry Impact Analysis

Significant Improvement in Export Facilitation: This policy adjustment covers over 75% of exported lithium-thionyl chloride battery products. The single-batch approval time will be reduced from 15 working days to 3 working days, and enterprise export costs are expected to decrease by 20%, saving the industry more than 30 million yuan in annual approval costs.

Enhanced Industry Competitiveness: Lithium-thionyl chloride batteries are primary (non-rechargeable) lithium batteries that use thionyl chloride as the positive electrode active material and electrolyte. They offer a specific energy of up to 590 Wh/kg, an operating temperature range of -55°C to 150°C, an annual self-discharge rate below 1%, and a storage life exceeding 10 years at room temperature. They are widely used in smart instrumentation, medical devices, scientific research instruments, and other products. In 2024, China's total production of these batteries reached 680 million units, with a market size of 12.5 billion yuan and export value of 3.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.2%. Main export destinations include Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Benefit Across the Entire Industry Chain: The policy's positive impact will boost all segments of the industry chain, including battery production, material supply, and equipment manufacturing. Leading companies such as EVE Energy, Penghui Energy, and Gotion High-Tech are expected to benefit significantly. Upstream material suppliers, like Kaishin New Materials (the world's largest producer of thionyl chloride), will also see performance improvements.

Future Outlook

This policy optimization marks a new phase of "categorized management and precise implementation" in China's import/export regulation of lithium-thionyl chloride batteries. It will help align monitoring chemical regulations with international standards, improve trade facilitation, better integrate into global industrial and supply chains, enhance international competitiveness, and support the high-quality development of the lithium-thionyl chloride battery industry and related sectors.