CATL and HyperStrong on April 27 signed a three‑year strategic cooperation agreement for 60 GWh of sodium‑ion batteries, marking what both companies call the largest sodium‑ion battery order in the world and a major step toward commercializing the technology. The deal, signed in Ningde, Fujian province, follows a broader framework under which HyperStrong committed to procure at least 200 GWh of cells from CATL over 2026–2028 and builds on a partnership first announced in November 2025.
CATL said the 60 GWh order proves it has overcome key mass‑production hurdles for sodium‑ion chemistry and can deliver at scale. The company credited advances in morphological control and surface modification to raise energy density, and core manufacturing solutions — including angstrom‑level pore regulation in hard carbon, surface molecular water‑locking, adaptive dynamic formation and a bipolar functional coating — to resolve problems such as hard carbon foaming, moisture control and aluminum foil adhesion. CATL disclosed that its storage‑focused sodium battery achieves a cycle life exceeding 15,000 cycles and retains more than 90% capacity at −40°C, while showing high‑temperature cycle performance that rivals or surpasses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells.
CATL also emphasized compatibility: its sodium‑ion energy storage modules share platform dimensions with lithium‑ion products, enabling faster downstream adoption and lower integration costs for system integrators. HyperStrong—listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and a major energy‑storage integrator with cumulative installations above 40 GWh—said the collaboration will stabilise its supply chain and accelerate station rollout for long‑duration and data‑centre storage applications.
Market analysts note the scale of the agreement is striking relative to the current sodium‑ion market. Independent data cited by industry reports estimate global sodium‑ion shipments for 2025 at roughly 9 GWh, with about 5.2 GWh used for energy storage—making the 60 GWh commitment multiple times larger than last year’s market. That gap underscores both the ambition of CATL’s “lithium‑sodium dual‑track” strategy and the supply‑chain stresses that may follow.
The most immediate bottleneck is high‑end hard carbon anode supply. Industry estimates suggest global production capacity for premium hard carbon is currently far below what large sodium deployments would require; producing 60 GWh of cells could demand tens of thousands of tonnes of hard carbon, well above current annual outputs. Prices for advanced hard carbon remain elevated and delivery lead times long. CATL has inked joint development deals with materials makers to expand capacity, but analysts warn that mainstream cost advantages will depend on verified, large‑scale upstream expansion and sustained yield improvements.
The move is part of a broader CATL push to secure resource and material positions across both lithium and sodium value chains: the company has made large upstream investments and long‑term procurement agreements for lithium and cathode materials while aggressively commercializing sodium technology for storage scenarios. Observers say that if sodium batteries capture significant share of the energy‑storage market, they could moderate lithium demand volatility and reshape pricing power for miners and cathode producers—though the transition will likely be phased and contingent on supply‑chain maturation.
