Currently, the domestic sodium-ion battery industry is accelerating its R&D iterations and mass production, with leading power battery and material companies successively implementing technological achievements, advancing capacity construction, and signing orders. The commercialization of the industry has entered a critical period.

This image uses AI generation technology

▲Image generated by AI.

Recently, companies such as EVE, CATL, and BYD have announced their sodium-ion battery mass production timelines, technological progress, and capacity planning. Industry insiders believe that the current R&D iterations and mass production of sodium-ion batteries in China are accelerating, with leading power battery and material companies implementing technological achievements, advancing capacity construction, and signing orders, marking a critical period for industry commercialization.

Accelerated R&D and Mass Production

Entering 2026, the R&D and mass production process of sodium-ion batteries has significantly accelerated. In June, CATL announced that it would deliver the first batch of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems to customers in September, achieving gigawatt-hour level shipments for the year. Not long ago, CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Haibosi to develop sodium-ion batteries for energy storage, reaching a three-year cooperation order of 60 gigawatt-hours to accelerate the industrialization process of sodium-ion batteries.

On May 29, BYD stated that in the field of sodium-ion batteries, the company focuses on commercial landing scenarios such as two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles, start-stop power sources, and energy storage, having already taken the lead in industrialization in the energy storage field. As of now, sodium battery technology has applied for and laid out over 230 core patents globally, with 95% being invention patents, accurately covering core aspects such as high energy density cathode materials, electrolyte optimization, and battery system integration.

On May 17, GOTION launched its sodium-ion battery brand, introducing three standardized products covering multiple scenarios such as energy storage, low-altitude economy, and lightweight power, planning to start large-scale mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.

EVE stated in April that it has transitioned from the technology verification stage to the large-scale, commercial stage in the field of sodium-ion batteries. The independently designed and developed NF155L sodium-ion battery product has achieved mass production capability, with plans to deliver new sodium-ion batteries in bulk for energy storage and lightweight power scenarios by the end of this year, and to establish a 2 gigawatt-hour capacity by 2027.

Upstream core material companies are also synchronously supporting and following up, aiding in the collaborative implementation of the industrial chain. On April, Dache Technology stated that its sodium battery cathode materials cover two mainstream technological routes: polyanionic and layered oxides, with product performance meeting customers' differentiated needs. It maintains close cooperation with multiple domestic and foreign customers and has been applied in bulk to downstream energy storage, start-stop, and small power projects.

Rapid Growth in the Energy Storage Sector

From the product characteristics, sodium-ion batteries have multiple industrialization advantages. In addition to cost advantages after large-scale mass production, sodium-ion batteries exhibit excellent safety performance, with capacity and discharge capability degradation in low-temperature environments being much less than that of lithium batteries, showing stronger environmental adaptability. However, sodium-ion batteries also have prominent shortcomings, as their overall energy density is lower than that of mainstream lithium batteries, limiting their application in high-end electric vehicles Currently, sodium-ion battery applications are centered around the energy storage field. In March of this year, the sodium-ion energy storage system provided by Zhongke Haina successfully connected to the grid in Yongfu County, Guilin, Guangxi, marking the first large-scale application of sodium-ion batteries in the 10 kV medium-voltage distribution network in Guangxi; in January, the first phase of the 100 MW/200 MWh sodium-ion energy storage power station demonstration project in Honghu City, the largest sodium-ion battery energy storage station under construction in China, built by China Power Construction, passed completion acceptance.

The international investment research firm Bernstein released a report indicating that last year, the shipment volume of sodium-ion batteries doubled to 9 GWh, and it is expected to increase to at least 25 GWh by 2026, with energy storage accounting for more than 50% of the overall demand, followed by micro-transportation and automotive start-stop systems.

A research report from Galaxy Securities pointed out that power, energy storage, and two-wheeled vehicles will become key areas for the expansion of sodium-ion batteries. In terms of power, sodium batteries address the challenges of electrification "going north," and combined with economic viability, a significant increase in mid-to-low-end power applications is expected; in energy storage, sodium batteries, with their three major advantages of wide temperature range, high safety, and high discharge power, are expected to see large-scale deployment; in the two-wheeled vehicle sector, sodium batteries are likely to achieve large-scale replacement of lead-acid batteries due to their comparative advantages of low cost and high performance.

It is noteworthy that, from a global industrial perspective, China holds an absolute dominant position. A report from the International Energy Agency at the beginning of the year pointed out that nearly all sodium-ion manufacturing capacity is concentrated in China. If we include the factories that have been completed and announced for production, this capacity share is expected to exceed 95% by 2030.

Expected to Achieve Price Parity Between Lithium and Sodium

It is important to note that the cost of sodium-ion batteries is rapidly decreasing. On one hand, sodium resources are abundant and procurement costs are low. As the industry scales up production, the economies of scale continue to dilute fixed costs such as production, manufacturing, and labor, driving the overall cost of batteries down. On the other hand, sodium-ion batteries can replace the positive and negative electrode current collectors with all-aluminum foil, achieving about a 15% reduction in material costs; at the same time, core negative electrode materials such as coal-based hard carbon are achieving large-scale production, and with continuous optimization of production processes, the industry product yield has improved from 85% to 95%.

Meanwhile, the prices of raw materials for lithium batteries remain high. Since the beginning of this year, domestic lithium carbonate prices have continued to rise, breaking through 200,000 yuan/ton in mid-May, and although there has been some decline since then, the overall price remains high. Additionally, the slow rise in copper foil prices further increases the production costs of lithium batteries.

A research report from CITIC Construction Investment shows that as the price increase expectation for lithium carbonate materializes in 2026, the economic advantages of sodium-ion batteries will gradually become apparent. It is expected that leading sodium-ion battery manufacturers will achieve price parity with lithium by the end of 2026, and the sodium-ion battery market will enter a phase of price parity in 2027. The market demand for sodium batteries is expected to reach 500 GWh by 2030.

Bernstein pointed out that sodium batteries are posing a substantial threat to lithium iron phosphate batteries. By 2025, the cost of sodium batteries is expected to decrease by 24%, from $75/kWh to $57/kWh. Although this is still higher than lithium iron phosphate, the firm anticipates that with large-scale production and improvements in energy density, sodium battery costs will reach parity with lithium iron phosphate by 2027, after which a cost advantage of $15/kWh to $20/kWh will be established However, industry insiders believe that sodium-ion batteries are not a substitute for lithium batteries; instead, the two will form a complementary and symbiotic new industry pattern. In the future, as leading enterprises continue to release production capacity, technological breakthroughs occur, and application scenarios accelerate, sodium-ion batteries will compete in a differentiated manner and develop synergistically with lithium batteries, enriching the energy storage and power battery industry system.

Written by | Reporter Yang Zi

Produced by | China Energy News (cnenergy) Edited by | Li Huiying