A dry cell, formally known as a zinc-manganese battery, is a primary battery that generates electricity through an oxidation-reduction reaction, with manganese dioxide serving as the positive electrode and zinc as the negative electrode. Dry cells are the most commonly used batteries in everyday life and are internationally standardized products, adhering to universal domestic and international standards for dimensions, individual cell shapes, and other specifications.

Dry-cell battery technology is mature, offering stable performance, high safety and reliability, ease of use, and a wide range of applications. In everyday life, common zinc-manganese battery models include the No. 7 battery (AAA type) and the No. 5 battery (AA type), among others. Although scientists continue to strive toward discovering more affordable and superior primary batteries, there have been no successful breakthroughs yet. As such, it’s foreseeable that, for now—and likely for quite some time to come—no battery with better cost-performance characteristics will emerge to replace zinc-manganese batteries.

Zinc-manganese batteries are primarily classified into carbon batteries and alkaline batteries, depending on the electrolyte and manufacturing process. In carbon batteries, the outer casing serves as the zinc anode, while a carbon rod at the center acts as the conductive material for the cathode. Surrounding the carbon rod is a powder mixture of manganese dioxide and acetylene black, forming the cathode region. Meanwhile, the anode region consists of a solution containing zinc chloride and ammonium chloride.

General carbon batteries offer consistent discharge performance, low self-discharge rates, and a shelf life of over 24 months. The battery features a safety-designed explosion-proof structure in its sealing ring, effectively preventing potential battery explosions caused by improper usage. With mature production technology, stable performance, and a relatively affordable price, carbon batteries are widely used as essential components in small electronic devices such as remote controls, flashlights, toys, and transistor radios.

Carbon battery production volume declines

In recent years, with the growing popularity and widespread adoption of alkaline batteries, the carbon battery market has generally shown a declining trend. According to statistics from the China Battery Industry Association, since 2014, China's production of carbon zinc-manganese batteries has continued to drop. In 2018, the national output stood at 21.5 billion units, but by 2019, it saw a slight rebound, reaching 21.76 billion units—representing a year-on-year increase of 1.19%. Based on an analysis of China's carbon zinc-manganese battery market trends in 2020, it is estimated that the country's production of these batteries will be approximately 20.13 billion units in 2020.

The export volume of carbon batteries is experiencing volatile declines.

According to statistics from the China Association of Chemical and Physical Power Sources Industry, China's exports of carbon batteries have generally shown a volatile downward trend since 2014. In 2019, China exported 17.406 billion carbon batteries, a year-on-year decrease of 0.71%. In 2020, China's carbon battery exports fell further to 16.604 billion units, representing a year-on-year decline of 4.61%.