CATL, the world’s largest power battery manufacturer, anticipates that sodium-ion batteries will gain widespread application across multiple sectors starting next year, amid rapid lithium price increases over recent months.
In 2026, sodium batteries will see large-scale adoption in battery swap, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and energy storage, CATL said yesterday at a supplier conference in Ningde, Fujian — its headquarters city, according to a report by local media outlet Cailian.
CATL said that sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries are poised to form a new “dual-star” trend.
CATL’s comments boosted shares of several Chinese sodium battery manufacturers, with Jiangsu Transimage Tech surging by the daily limit of 10 percent in morning trading, though gains later narrowed to about 5 percent.
This comes amid a surge in lithium battery raw material prices, with battery-grade lithium carbonate rising over 50 percent in China during the past three months to exceed 110,000 yuan ($15,700) per ton.
The sharp rise in raw material costs has prompted some lithium iron phosphate (LFP) manufacturers, including Hunan Yuneng, to announce production halts under the guise of equipment maintenance recently, as downstream customers refuse to absorb the cost hikes.
Earlier this month, Shanghai Securities News reported that multiple LFP manufacturers have requested price increases, with one company planning to raise processing fees for its entire LFP product line by RMB 3,000 per ton starting January 1, 2026.
In the sodium battery sector, CATL launched its first-generation sodium-ion battery amid soaring lithium carbonate prices in July 2021, bringing this novel battery technology into the spotlight.
As lithium prices have plummeted over the past few years, the appeal of sodium-ion batteries has significantly diminished, and they have been mentioned less frequently.
In April this year, CATL unveiled its sodium-ion battery brand, Naxtra, at its Tech Day event, beginning to explore lithium battery replacements under this new brand.
CATL said that Naxtra’s passenger vehicle battery achieves an energy density of up to 175 Wh/kg, ranking first globally among sodium-ion batteries and matching LFP batteries.
CATL said Naxtra battery packs deliver a range of up to 500 kilometers and exceed 10,000 cycles, significantly reducing maintenance costs.
This article was first published by Phate Zhang on CnEVPost, a website focusing on new energy vehicle news from China.
