“The Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has signed the world’s largest sodium-ion battery deal to date, which will supply 60 gigawatt-hours of sodium-ion batteries to Beijing HyperStrong Technology over three years. Sodium-ion batteries are less energy-dense than lithium-ion batteries, but they use cheaper, more abundant materials, making them especially promising for grid storage,” notes The Doomslayer.
By way of comparison, the U.S. uses about 11,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity per day. Sodium-ion batteries can help alleviate the coming lithium supply crunch. Lithium-free sodium-ion batteries are now being produced in the U.S.
The demand for lithium is rising rapidly, due to surging Electric Vehicle (EV) demand and rapidly growing energy storage needs due to growing reliance on solar and wind energy. Solar energy is produced when the sun is shining, and then has to be stored in batteries to be used later on at night or on a cloudy day. Lithium-ion batteries are the dominant technology for storing solar and wind energy, accounting for over 80% of new battery storage capacity. “Long-term projections show demand” for lithium “rising to over 3 million tons by 2030, with supply struggles driven by operational challenges, low investment in new projects, and high water-stress regions.” So it is important to have alternatives like sodium-ion batteries.
Artificial intelligence recently discovered a new substance that could reduce lithium use in batteries. Microsoft said that the new “material, unknown to us and not present in nature” could potentially reduce lithium use in batteries by up to 70% and “have tremendous environmental, safety, and economic benefits.”
Bloomberg News reports on the rise in sodium-ion battery production:
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. said it signed a three-year deal to provide sodium-ion batteries to Beijing HyperStrong Technology Co., a domestic manufacturer of power equipment. CATL did not disclose the value of the agreement but said in a statement it would amount to 60 gigawatt-hours, and mark the battery giant’s first strategic partnership in sodium-based technology.
These batteries use sodium as their key raw material instead of lithium, and are expected to deliver safer and low-cost rechargeable cells. The International Energy Agency expects 2026 “could prove to be a pivotal year” for sodium batteries, which could begin to displace at least some demand for more familiar lithium-ion technology.
CATL, which has added more than 300 staff and invested almost 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in sodium-ion research and development in the past decade, has described the segment as “alternative risk management,” offering a hedge against wild swings in lithium prices.
