Sodium-ion touted as energy option

Technology offers fast charging and strong performance in low temperatures

Chinese battery makers are stepping up efforts to bring sodium-ion batteries into vehicles and energy storage as the technology moves toward early commercial use. The batteries are increasingly seen as a complement to lithium-ion batteries rather than a direct replacement.

The push comes as battery makers look for alternatives to lithiumion batteries, which remain the dominant choice in China's electric vehicle market but rely on raw materials mined and processed in a handful of countries. Imports of lithium concentrate reached about 7.75 million metric tons in 2025, up 39.4 percent year-on-year, according to industry data based on customs statistics.

By contrast, sodium is far more abundant and easier to source, and the chemistry may offer advantages in applications that require strong low-temperature performance and fast charging.

Chinese companies are ahead of many overseas peers in bringing sodium-ion batteries into commercial deployment. While several startups, mainly in the United States, are still preparing for pilot-scale production, manufacturers in China have moved into mass production for transport and large-scale energy storage, Reuters reported.

CATL, the world's largest battery maker, revealed its Naxtra sodiumion battery brand in April 2025. The company said the Naxtra passenger EV battery can achieve an energy density of up to 175 watt-hours per kilogram.

In February, CATL and Changan Automobile revealed a passenger vehicle using Naxtra batteries. They said it would become the world's first mass-produced sodium-ion passenger model and would be launched by summer, with a pure-electric range exceeding 400 kilometers.

CATL has also said sodium-ion batteries will be integrated into its battery-swapping network. In its 2025 annual report, the company said it had built more than 1,000 battery-swap stations across 45 cities in China.

Other Chinese companies are also stepping up sodium-ion battery development. BYD has increased investment in sodium battery production, and its annual sodium battery capacity could soon reach 50 gigawatt-hours. HiNa Battery, a company affiliated with the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is producing sodium-ion batteries for applications including electric cars, scooters and heavy trucks.

HiNa also supplied the technology for China's first large-scale sodium-ion energy storage station in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The project started with a capacity of 10 megawatt-hours and was later expanded to 50 MWh.

They offer advantages in low-temperature performance and charging speed, but lower energy density remains a major drawback. In practical terms, a sodiumion battery pack needs to be larger and heavier than a lithium-ion pack to store the same amount of energy.

Cost is another obstacle. In China, sodium-ion batteries are priced at about 0.6 yuan ($0.09) per watthour, compared with roughly 0.4 yuan per watt-hour for lithium-ion batteries, mainly because the supply chain has yet to mature.

Mo Ke, founder and president of market consultancy RealLi, said the cost gap will narrow as CATL and BYD ramp up production and the supply chain matures.

Sodium-ion batteries are expected to gain traction first in heavy trucks and utility-scale energy storage rather than in long-range passenger cars.

Tang Kun, a co-founder of HiNa, said the chemistry's stronger cold-weather performance and faster charging could make it better suited to trucks, where energy density is less critical. He said HiNa's sodium-ion truck battery can be fully charged in around 20 minutes, and that sodium-ion batteries can perform well at temperatures as low as-40 degrees Celsius.

In October 2025, HiNa unveiled a sodium-powered tractor unit approved for sale in China. CATL has also launched a 24-volt sodium-ion integrated start-stop battery for heavy-duty trucks, underscoring growing interest in sodium-ion applications for commercial vehicles.

Utility-scale energy storage is also seen as a promising market because space constraints are less severe than in passenger vehicles, especially in remote areas where bigger and bulkier batteries can be more easily accommodated.

China has also launched a three-year action plan (2025-27) to promote large-scale energy storage development, including the commercialization of sodium-ion battery storage.

Mo also said hybrid battery packs combining sodium and lithium could become an important direction for the industry, as they may help balance low-temperature performance, range and stability across different applications. That suggests sodium-ion batteries are likely to develop alongside lithiumion batteries rather than replace them. (source: China daily)