So, please pardon my posting of a less credible source. There’s a Reuters article on this as well but it has substantially less detail about this deal.
Now this deal is pretty significant because it shows that CATL is successfully transitioning into commercial production of sodium-ion batteries. While sodium-ion batteries are already on the market for battery storage by other companies, they aren’t doing so at a large scale because of technical problems with mass manufacturing which CATL has managed to solve. CATL, with its advanced production processes, will likely dwarf other companies globally when it comes to manufacturing sodium-ion batteries.
There are several advantages that sodium-ion has over lithium-ion batteries. Even if they have less energy density than lithium-ion, they can operate in a greater range of temperatures:
>CATL’s energy storage sodium-ion cell is a 300+ Ah large-format product with an energy density of about 160 Wh/kg, a system energy conversion efficiency of 97%, and a cycle life exceeding 15,000 cycles at 80% capacity retention. It operates across a temperature range of -40°C to 70°C, which is significantly wider than most lithium-ion cells.
Sodium-ion is also significantly cheaper than lithium-ion, with a price point at around 30-40% lower per cell.
I should also mention that CATL isn’t just planning on manufacturing for battery storage; this year they also plan to begin mass-manufacturing of these batteries for electric vehicles as well:
>Critically, CATL designed the sodium-ion cells with the same dimensions as its lithium-ion products, making them compatible with existing supply chains and installation infrastructure. That dramatically reduces adaptation costs and shortens deployment timelines.
>As we covered last week, CATL is also pushing sodium-ion into electric vehicles, with its chief scientist confirming mass production by the end of 2026 and a target of reaching LFP-level energy density (enabling 600 km / 370+ miles of range) within three years. The first sodium-ion EV, the Changan Nevo A06, debuted in February.
Which means they have a significant first mover advantage here since no other non-Chinese company is using sodium-ion in EVs at this scale.
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So, please pardon my posting of a less credible source. There’s a Reuters article on this as well but it has substantially less detail about this deal.
Now this deal is pretty significant because it shows that CATL is successfully transitioning into commercial production of sodium-ion batteries. While sodium-ion batteries are already on the market for battery storage by other companies, they aren’t doing so at a large scale because of technical problems with mass manufacturing which CATL has managed to solve. CATL, with its advanced production processes, will likely dwarf other companies globally when it comes to manufacturing sodium-ion batteries.
There are several advantages that sodium-ion has over lithium-ion batteries. Even if they have less energy density than lithium-ion, they can operate in a greater range of temperatures:
>CATL’s energy storage sodium-ion cell is a 300+ Ah large-format product with an energy density of about 160 Wh/kg, a system energy conversion efficiency of 97%, and a cycle life exceeding 15,000 cycles at 80% capacity retention. It operates across a temperature range of -40°C to 70°C, which is significantly wider than most lithium-ion cells.
Sodium-ion is also significantly cheaper than lithium-ion, with a price point at around 30-40% lower per cell.
I should also mention that CATL isn’t just planning on manufacturing for battery storage; this year they also plan to begin mass-manufacturing of these batteries for electric vehicles as well:
>Critically, CATL designed the sodium-ion cells with the same dimensions as its lithium-ion products, making them compatible with existing supply chains and installation infrastructure. That dramatically reduces adaptation costs and shortens deployment timelines.
>As we covered last week, CATL is also pushing sodium-ion into electric vehicles, with its chief scientist confirming mass production by the end of 2026 and a target of reaching LFP-level energy density (enabling 600 km / 370+ miles of range) within three years. The first sodium-ion EV, the Changan Nevo A06, debuted in February.
Which means they have a significant first mover advantage here since no other non-Chinese company is using sodium-ion in EVs at this scale.