Rapid Commercialization of Sodium-ion Batteries Signals New Era in Energy Storage Solutions

The commercialization of sodium batteries is accelerating, marking the beginning of a “diversified battle” in energy storage.

Since 2025, the demand for energy storage installations has surged both domestically and internationally, leading to a tightening supply of lithium batteries, where a situation of “difficulty in obtaining a single cell” arose. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of tight lithium resources and price fluctuations, the continuous release of demand from various application scenarios, including source-grid-load storage, commercial energy storage, and AI-driven data centers (AIDC), has significantly accelerated the commercialization process of sodium battery storage technology, propelling it into a “fast lane” of development.

1. Battery Industry Chain Companies Increasingly Invest in Sodium Batteries

Recently, CATL announced at its supplier conference that it plans to promote the large-scale application of sodium batteries in energy storage and other fields by 2026. Yiwei Lithium Energy, after successfully integrating its first large-capacity sodium battery energy storage system in Jingmen, Hubei, has also officially launched its project in Guangdong—the “Yiwei Sodium Energy Headquarters and Jinyuan Robotics AI Center.” This project is set to establish a production line with an annual capacity of 2GWh, focusing on large-scale applications in energy storage, AIDC, and other scenarios. The positioning of these leading battery companies has further sparked external interest in the commercialization process of sodium batteries.

In fact, not only CATL and Yiwei Lithium Energy, but also mainstream companies in the lithium battery industry chain, such as Farasis Energy, Honeycomb Energy, Sunwoda, PeiNeng Technology, Multifluor, Rongbai Technology, Dangsheng Technology, and BETTERI, have made varying degrees of breakthroughs in the field of sodium-ion batteries.

For example, Rongbai Technology, a leading company in cathode materials, is rapidly implementing its sodium battery plans. In November 2025, Rongbai Technology signed a cooperation agreement with CATL, becoming the first supplier of cathode materials for CATL’s sodium batteries, with a four-year long-term contract. Following this, in December, the company quickly adjusted its production lines at its facility in Xiantao, Hubei, to shift part of its planned lithium battery material production to sodium battery cathode material production. After the adjustment, the first phase of the project will achieve an annual production capacity of 26,400 tons of lithium battery cathode materials and 16,800 tons of sodium battery cathode materials. It is reported that the annual production of 16,800 tons of sodium battery cathode materials will utilize a layered oxide technology route, with a specific capacity no less than 140mAh/g and a first-week Coulombic efficiency reaching over 85%. According to plans, Rongbai Technology aims to achieve a sodium battery capacity of 50,000 tons by 2026 through line upgrades and acquisitions, as well as establish new integrated production lines with a capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 tons.

Another significant driver of the industrialization process comes from technological advancements on the product front. Recently, China Sodium Battery Group Co., Ltd. officially announced the latest development of its 588Ah sodium-ion large cell, a crucial milestone in promoting the industrialization of sodium batteries. This cell achieves an energy density of over 165Wh/kg and is designed into a 5MWh pure sodium energy storage system solution, effectively addressing traditional sodium-ion battery challenges such as low energy density, long heat dissipation paths, and difficulties in quickly exporting heat. In terms of application scenarios, this large-capacity cell is set to enhance energy storage stations, unmanned mining areas, and heavy-duty truck battery swapping, particularly in energy-sensitive and cost-sensitive applications.

With breakthroughs and increased capacities across the supply chain—from materials, cells, to system solutions—the commercial application of sodium batteries in the energy storage sector is rapidly becoming a reality.

2. Sodium Battery Energy Storage Projects Accelerating Implementation

In fact, the commercialization of sodium batteries is not only confined to capacity planning and technical reserves but has also accelerated the transition from laboratory to large-scale application through a number of representative demonstration projects.

For instance, the Yunnan Wenshan Qiubei Independent Battery Storage Project, a national benchmark demonstration project, has a total installed capacity of 200MW/400MWh, with sodium battery configurations at 20MW/40MWh. This project employs a hybrid technology route of lithium and sodium, making it the largest energy storage station of its kind in the country, effectively validating the reliability and technical feasibility of sodium batteries in large energy storage scenarios.

Meanwhile, the Nanning Fulin Sodium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Station in Guangxi, the first large-capacity sodium-ion battery energy storage station in the country, successfully completed its second-phase expansion and officially commenced operations in October 2025. This project utilizes high-capacity power-type sodium-ion batteries from China Science and Technology Haidong, reaching a total scale of 50MWh post-expansion, with approximately 600 charge and discharge cycles per year, enabling an additional 30GWh of renewable energy consumption annually. The successful operation and expansion of this project demonstrate the real value of sodium batteries in facilitating renewable energy consumption, supporting grid operations, and promoting energy transition.

Industry data indicates that in 2025, the total shipment volume of sodium-ion batteries in China is expected to be at the GWh level. In terms of energy storage applications, the newly interconnected capacity of sodium battery storage in the country is approximately 200MWh, mainly distributed across provinces such as Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guangdong, and applied in various scenarios on the user side, grid side, and power source side, initially forming a multi-regional and all-scenario demonstration application pattern.

3. Why Sodium Batteries Are Back in the Spotlight

In recent years, lithium carbonate prices once soared to a historic high of 600,000 yuan per ton, leading the industry to have high hopes for sodium batteries. However, as lithium prices significantly declined, the enthusiasm for sodium batteries also waned. Currently, amidst tight lithium resources and price fluctuations, sodium batteries have regained attention in the industry spotlight, no longer simply defined as a “substitute” for lithium batteries but rather as a critical complement, working towards a new paradigm of “coexistence and mutual prosperity” with lithium batteries.

It is well known that sodium batteries possess unique technical and resource advantages: excellent low-temperature performance, enhanced safety, higher tolerance to overcharging and deep discharging, as well as abundant raw material resources and substantial cost potential.

Industry forecasts indicate that as technology matures and production scales expand, the cost and price of sodium batteries will continue to decline. By 2028, the price of sodium batteries based on polyanion routes is expected to drop to levels comparable to or even lower than lithium iron phosphate batteries in the energy storage field. Meanwhile, the cost of sodium-ion batteries is projected to decrease from the current approximately 0.6 yuan/Wh to around 0.2 yuan/Wh by 2035, thereby opening up vast development space for large-scale energy storage and other markets.

Currently, the rapid rise of the AIDC energy storage market provides important scenarios for the large-scale application of sodium-ion batteries, accelerating their industrialization process. Under the dual drive of economic and strategic factors, deeper layouts are being made at the industrial level. As Bai Houshan, chairman of Rongbai Technology, stated, the future trend of battery technology development will evolve towards “non-rare, non-critical, and low-cost” directions. He further predicts that by 2035, the production capacity ratio of lithium iron phosphate batteries to sodium batteries may reach 4:6, at which point the demand for sodium battery cathode materials could rise to 20 million tons.

National policies have also provided clear guidance. The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, in the “Special Action Plan for Large-scale Construction of New-type Energy Storage (2025-2027),” have explicitly proposed to promote the further commercialization of sodium-ion battery energy storage.

It is evident that the return of sodium batteries to the center stage of the industry is not coincidental. They are transforming from a “backup option” to becoming one of the crucial pillars in constructing future energy systems. Currently, the new energy industry is undergoing a profound structural transformation, and in this process, the application of sodium batteries not only provides a new strategic buffer for energy security but also creates a more dominant development space for the local supply chain.