en.Wedoany.com Reported - On June 4, the "Sodium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Industry Technology and Application Research Exchange Activity" was held in Shanghai, hosted by the News and Publicity Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Participants unanimously agreed that with the simultaneous maturation of materials, manufacturing, systems, and application ends, sodium-ion battery energy storage is accelerating its transition from the demonstration and verification phase to large-scale application.
Wang Zunzhi, General Manager of the Sodium Battery Division at Ronbay Technology, introduced that continuous breakthroughs in sodium-ion battery cathode technology have led to rapid capacity improvements, with electrode compaction density increasing to 2.5g/cm³. The cycle life of sodium iron phosphate (NFPP) exceeds 15,000 cycles, and mass production stability is being continuously validated. Ronbay Technology is pioneering the industrialization of the polyanion route centered on NFPP for sodium batteries. By developing first-of-its-kind processes and equipment tailored for sodium batteries, the company has reduced the processing cost of polyanion sodium battery materials by 30% to 50%. The company has established a production capacity of 6,000 tons of polyanion cathode materials in Xiantao, Hubei, with plans to expand to 28,000 tons by 2026, and to build a new 300,000-ton dedicated sodium battery production line by 2027, depending on market demand.
On the anode side, hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries have entered the stage of industrial and large-scale production. The cost reduction of hard carbon anodes has exceeded market expectations, projected to drop from RMB 60,000 to 70,000 per ton in 2024 to RMB 35,000 to 40,000 per ton in 2026, with a long-term target of below RMB 25,000 per ton. Wei Dong, General Manager of the Marketing Center at Wanhua Chemical's Battery Industry Company, noted that Wanhua Chemical has developed two engineering hard carbon technology routes—coal-based and resin-based—solving the supply limitations and performance fluctuations associated with early reliance on natural biomass raw materials, thereby ensuring a stable supply of raw materials. The coal-based route offers significant cost advantages, while the resin-based route excels in product consistency and overall performance. The parallel development of these two routes can provide differentiated solutions for the sodium battery market, catering to the needs of various application scenarios.
Lin Jiubiao, CTO of CATL's Domestic Energy Storage Solutions, stated that sodium-ion batteries have entered an era of full productization. The company has restructured the electrochemical model based on the characteristics of sodium-ion batteries, overcoming mass production challenges such as moisture control in hard carbon electrodes and gas generation. The products feature a wide temperature range and an ultra-long cycle life of 15,000 cycles. At the energy storage system level, CATL adopts a "one shell, dual core" platform solution, maintaining the same dimensions as lithium battery systems for easy switching. It has launched a complete energy storage unit consisting of a 3MWh DC compartment and a 3MW step-up converter integrated machine, with a system lifespan of 20 years. Lin Jiubiao explained that the company is reducing system costs by increasing energy density and simplifying system integration. A dedicated sodium-ion battery production line has been built and put into operation, with the first batch of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems scheduled for delivery to customers in September this year, achieving GWh-level shipments for the full year.
Application-side demand is accelerating. Wang Lei, General Manager of the Experimental Testing Center at Hyperstrong, introduced that the company plans to promote the large-scale application of sodium-ion battery energy storage, creating demonstration projects for lithium-sodium hybrid energy storage stations, with the first batch of projects to be implemented in 2026. Sodium-ion battery energy storage offers differentiated advantages and significant application potential in areas such as large-scale independent energy storage stations, new high-energy-consumption scenarios like computing-electricity synergy, long-duration energy storage of 4 to 6 hours or more, high-cycle-frequency energy storage projects, and projects with operational cycles exceeding 15 years. CATL and Hyperstrong have signed a three-year, 60GWh sodium-ion battery energy storage order.
Liu Yafang, Adjunct Professor at Zhejiang University and Special Chief Expert of the China Energy Research Society, pointed out that looking ahead to the "15th Five-Year Plan," the sodium-ion battery energy storage industry should leverage policy tailwinds to accelerate R&D and industrialization, focus on the quality of demonstration projects, improve techno-economic performance, actively expand application scenarios such as large bases and computing-electricity synergy, and strengthen industry chain collaboration and international competitiveness. Zhou Bo, General Manager of the Research Center at the China Industrial Association of Power Sources' Power Battery Application Division, suggested that the industry needs to rapidly advance the establishment of a full lifecycle standard and certification system to accelerate the industrialization process of sodium-ion battery energy storage.
With the accelerated coordination of the entire industry chain, the sodium-ion battery energy storage industry is expected to expedite the realization of large-scale applications, thereby enriching new energy storage technology routes, enhancing the resilience of the industry chain and supply chain, and injecting new momentum into the high-quality development of new energy.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
