CATL Begins Business Manufacturing Of Sodium-Ion Batteries

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What number of instances have we stated right here at CleanTechnica that the batteries for electrical autos in 2030 haven’t been invented but? A dozen? 100? Extra? Individuals assume the EV revolution sprang full blown from the forehead of Elon Musk, however that isn’t so. Elon might have lit the fuse, however he constructed on many years of labor that occurred lengthy earlier than he got here on the scene — individuals like John Goodenough, who many think about to be the daddy of the lithium ion battery.

The world of inside combustion autos has seen just a few enhancements since Henry Ford constructed his first meeting line — computerized transmissions, self starters, digital ignitions, gas injection, disc brakes, and air-con being among the many most outstanding. Why will we assume electrical autos won’t observe the same evolution?

One of many weaknesses of immediately’s NMC primarily based batteries is their lowered efficiency in chilly climate. LFP batteries are higher at dealing with it, however sodium ion batteries just about chortle it off. This week, CATL, the biggest battery producer on this planet, introduced it has began producing sodium ion battery packs for mild business autos that may be plugged in and charged in excessive chilly situations right down to -30° C (-22º F). Even at -40° C, the battery retains 90 p.c of its usable capability, CATL claims.

Techtrans II

The corporate calls its new battery platform for business autos Techtrans II and it consists of batteries for heavy obligation vans and buses. Now the business’s first mass produced sodium battery for mild business autos has been added to the combination. The sodium battery pack has a capability of 45 kWh and is meant for small vans and vans. Clearly, lengthy vary is just not the very best precedence for the brand new battery chemistry.

Tectrans II has a number of variations, a few of which make the most of lithium ion expertise. One options an ultra-fast charging variant able to charging from 20 to 80 p.c in half-hour at -15°C. One other is a excessive temperature ultra-fast charging model that provides 60 p.c vary in 18 minutes with a cell lifetime of 5,000 cycles at 45° C. The sequence additionally affords an extended vary model with a battery pack capability of as much as 253 kWh, delivering 800 kilometers of vary. The brand new sodium-ion battery is alleged to have a lifespan of over 10,000 cost cycles and is licensed below the brand new Chinese language nationwide normal GB 38031-2025.

As well as, CATL can also be introducing swappable battery packs as a part of the Techtrans sequence. Along with the #20 battery swap block with 42 kWh capability, there may be the #25 block with 56 kWh, and the #35 block with 81 kWh. In 2026, sodium batteries will see large-scale adoption in battery swapping, passenger autos, business autos, and power storage, CATL stated at a provider convention held in its headquarters in Ningde on December 28. In line with a number of Chinese language information sources, sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries are anticipated to be half 0f a brand new “dual-star” pattern at CATL.

In April of 2025, CATL launched its first sodium-ion battery referred to as Naxtra at its Tech Day and has since been advertising it to be used in passenger vehicles with an power density of as much as 175 Wh/kg. Notably, the identical power density is now specified for the Tectrans II sodium battery.

Why Sodium-Ion?

Why the sudden concentrate on sodium-ion batteries? For years, the worth of lithium -ion batteries has been falling steadily, reaching simply over $100 per kWh late final 12 months. A lot of that worth lower was associated to decrease costs for the lithium carbonate that’s important to these batteries.

However a humorous factor occurred on the way in which to the lithium-ion future. Attributable to an oversupply, costs tumbled, so lithium producers did what any enterprise would do — they restricted lithium manufacturing. In some circumstances, mining and processing amenities had been closed. What occurs when demand exceeds provide? Costs go up.

In line with Investing Information Community, benchmark costs for battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide have elevated sharply thus far this 12 months, with costs pushing above $20,000 per metric ton. Spodumene additionally climbed above $2,000 per metric ton for the primary time since October 2023.

Momentum has been significantly sturdy in China, the place lithium costs jumped after Beijing introduced modifications to export tax rebates for battery merchandise. The finance ministry stated value-added tax rebates on battery exports might be lowered from 9 p.c to six p.c starting in April and might be eradicated on January 1, 2027.

Lithium Futures Soar

Final week, lithium carbonate futures on the Guangzhou Futures Change closed at 156,060 yuan per metric ton ($22,300), its highest degree since November, 2023 and up greater than 160 p.c from final 12 months’s lows. “With the current surge in spot costs and market exercise it’s nice to see that volumes are following the worth pattern,” stated Przemek Koralewski, Fastmarkets’ world head of market growth.

“What a 12 months in the past was thought-about a really sturdy month, in quantity phrases, can now be traded in per week, pointing to a rise in out there liquidity available in the market.” Previous to the beginning of 2026, lithium costs endured a chronic downturn as a consequence of oversupply, weaker than anticipated demand for electrical autos, and sustained worth strain that pressured producers to chop output and delay initiatives.

By December, 2025, lithium carbonate had risen roughly 56 p.c from its low level in January, 2025. Whether or not the rally might be sustained will rely upon how shortly new provide comes on-line and whether or not demand progress meets expectations, INN stated. A few of these closed mines and manufacturing amenities might take a 12 months or extra to ramp again up.

Sodium Is Low-cost And Considerable

Sodium batteries don’t use abnormal desk salt, however the uncooked materials — sodium — is affordable and considerable. The implications for the transition to electrical autos is evident. Lithium-ion battery pack costs have declined by over 50 p.c prior to now few years. Sodium-ion costs are usually not all that a lot decrease then lithium-ion immediately, however that’s principally as a result of they’re new to the market and haven’t benefited from the economies of scale that can come into play when megawatt-hours after which gigawatt-hours of them have been manufactured.

The opposite factor to remember about sodium batteries is their lengthy life expectancy. 10,000 cycles is rather a lot, which makes them perfect for power storage. Assuming 365 cost/discharge cycles a 12 months, they’d have an anticipated service lifetime of practically 30 years! That’s a statistic that ought to make these within the power storage business sit up and take discover.

We’re simply beginning to hear about sodium batteries however it appears protected to say we might be listening to way more within the months and years forward — particularly if the price of lithium batteries retains going up. At the moment, their power density is just too low for a lot of automotive purposes, however it’s good to do not forget that not so way back, LEDs had been so dim, few thought that they had any business makes use of. We predict we might be listening to way more about sodium batteries quickly — make that very quickly.