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中文Against the backdrop of fluctuating lithium carbonate prices and companies seeking supply chain security, sodium-ion batteries (hereinafter referred to as sodium batteries) are emerging as a new investment hotspot. As of the market close on January 28, concept stocks related to sodium battery development, such as Seven Colors Chemical, Limin Group, and Minmetals New Energy, have all surged by over 20% since the beginning of the year. Among them, Seven Colors Chemical has seen its stock price rise by 58.4% year-to-date.
Industry leader CATL has recently achieved a breakthrough in the mass production of sodium batteries.
Recently, CATL launched the “CATL Tianxing II Light Commercial Vehicle Customized Solution Series,” creating the industry’s first mass-produced sodium battery for light commercial vehicles. Its standout feature is its adaptability to extreme cold regions.
This battery has a capacity of 45 kWh and is compatible with various vehicle types, including small and medium-sized vans and mini trucks, making it suitable for new energy commercial vehicles. “The battery retains over 92% of its usable capacity at -20°C; even at -30°C, when the cell is completely frozen, it can still be charged immediately upon connection. At the same temperature, even if the battery is extremely depleted to 10% SOC, the vehicle can still climb a 10° slope under full load,” Peng Bin, STO of CATL’s Commercial Product Line, specifically emphasized to the National Business Daily the battery’s advantages in extreme cold environments.
Compared to lithium batteries, sodium batteries have distinct advantages and disadvantages. In terms of advantages, sodium resources are easier to obtain, offer better low-temperature performance, higher safety, and less noticeable temperature rise during high-rate charging compared to lithium resources. However, sodium batteries currently lag behind lithium batteries in terms of industrialization costs, supply chain maturity, and energy density.
“Lithium batteries have developed for many years, and the entire supply chain is very complete and efficient. Sodium batteries certainly cannot achieve this effect this year. However, in the next two to three years, our goal is to make sodium batteries more economically competitive than current lithium-ion batteries,” said Gao Huan, Chief Technology Officer of CATL, in an interview with reporters.
CATL’s entry into this field is not an isolated case, as companies across the entire industry chain have been actively deploying sodium battery technologies.
On January 17, Jiangsu Zhongna Energy Technology Co., Ltd. officially put into operation its 10,000-ton sodium iron sulfate cathode material production base—the Meishan Lina Project—located in Meishan City, Sichuan Province. The project aims to build an integrated capacity of 30,000 tons of sodium iron sulfate cathode materials and 5 GWh of sodium-ion battery pack systems. Prior to this, EVE Energy held a groundbreaking ceremony for the “EVE Sodium Energy Headquarters and Jinyuan Robot AI Center” project, with a total investment of approximately 1 billion yuan and a planned annual capacity of 2 GWh.
In terms of application scenarios, sodium batteries are being increasingly adopted in markets such as electric two-wheelers and energy storage. Gao Huan revealed that sodium batteries will gradually expand to passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and even construction machinery as production capacity grows. It is reported that the Aion UT Super, jointly launched by JD.com, GAC Group, and CATL, will also introduce a sodium battery version, with mass production expected in the second quarter of 2026.
“To achieve resource or energy independence, our goal is to promote sodium batteries on a large scale,” Gao Huan stated. He believes that sodium batteries will replace lithium batteries on a large scale in certain fields, marking the starting point of a broader restructuring of the energy landscape.
