Screenshot of CATL sodium battery announcement via CnEVPost.
CATL Begins Commercial Production Of Sodium-Ion Batteries
12 hours ago
Steve Hanley
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How many times have we said here at CleanTechnica that the batteries for electric vehicles in 2030 haven’t been invented yet? A dozen? A hundred? More? People think the EV revolution sprang full blown from the brow of Elon Musk, but that is not so. Elon may have lit the fuse, but he built on decades of work that happened long before he came on the scene — from people like John Goodenough, who many consider to be the father of the lithium-ion battery.
The world of internal combustion vehicles has seen a few improvements since Henry Ford built his first assembly line — automatic transmissions, self starters, electronic ignitions, fuel injection, disc brakes, and air conditioning being among the most prominent. Why do we assume electric vehicles will not follow a similar evolution?
One of the weaknesses of today’s NMC-based batteries is their reduced performance in cold weather. LFP batteries are better at handling it, but sodium-ion batteries pretty much laugh it off. This week, CATL, the largest battery manufacturer in the world, announced it has started producing sodium-ion battery packs for light commercial vehicles that can be plugged in and charged in extreme cold conditions down to -30°C (-22°F). Even at -40°C, the battery retains 90% of its usable capacity, CATL claims.
Techtrans II
The company calls its new battery platform for commercial vehicles Techtrans II, and it includes batteries for heavy-duty trucks and buses. Now the industry’s first mass produced sodium battery for light commercial vehicles has been added to the mix. The sodium battery pack has a capacity of 45 kWh and is intended for small vans and trucks. Obviously, long range is not the highest priority for the new battery chemistry.
Tectrans II has several variations, some of which utilize lithium-ion technology. One features an ultra-fast charging variant capable of charging from 20 to 80 percent in 30 minutes at -15°C. Another is a high temperature ultra-fast charging version that adds 60 percent range in 18 minutes with a cell life of 5,000 cycles at 45°C. The series also offers a long-range version with a battery pack capacity of up to 253 kWh, delivering 800 kilometers of range. The new sodium-ion battery is said to have a lifespan of over 10,000 charge cycles and is certified under the new Chinese national standard GB 38031-2025.
In addition, CATL is also introducing swappable battery packs as part of the Techtrans series. In addition to the #20 battery swap block with 42 kWh capacity, there is the #25 block with 56 kWh, and the #35 block with 81 kWh. In 2026, sodium batteries will see large-scale adoption in battery swapping, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and energy storage, CATL said at a supplier conference held in its headquarters in Ningde on December 28. According to multiple Chinese news sources, sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries are expected to be part 0f a new “dual-star” trend at CATL.
In April of 2025, CATL introduced its first sodium-ion battery called Naxtra at its Tech Day and has since been marketing it for use in passenger cars with an energy density of up to 175 Wh/kg. Notably, the same energy density is now specified for the Tectrans II sodium battery.
Why Sodium-Ion?
Why the sudden focus on sodium-ion batteries? For years, the price of lithium-ion batteries has been falling steadily, reaching just over $100 per kWh late last year. Much of that price decrease was related to lower prices for the lithium carbonate that is essential to those batteries.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the lithium-ion future. Due to an oversupply, prices tumbled, so lithium producers did what any business would do — they limited lithium production. In some cases, mining and processing facilities were closed. What happens when demand exceeds supply? Prices go up.
According to Investing News Network, benchmark prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide have increased sharply so far this year, with prices pushing above $20,000 per metric ton. Spodumene also climbed above $2,000 per metric ton for the first time since October 2023.
Momentum has been particularly strong in China, where lithium prices jumped after Beijing announced changes to export tax rebates for battery products. The finance ministry said value-added tax rebates on battery exports will be reduced from 9 percent to 6 percent beginning in April and will be eliminated on January 1, 2027.
Lithium Futures Soar
Last week, lithium carbonate futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange closed at 156,060 yuan per metric ton ($22,300), its highest level since November 2023, and up more than 160 percent from last year’s lows. “With the recent surge in spot prices and market activity it’s great to see that volumes are following the price trend,” said Przemek Koralewski, Fastmarkets’ global head of market development.
“What a year ago was considered a very strong month, in volume terms, can now be traded in a week, pointing to an increase in available liquidity in the market.” Prior to the start of 2026, lithium prices endured a prolonged downturn due to oversupply, weaker than expected demand for electric vehicles, and sustained price pressure that forced producers to cut output and delay projects.
By December 2025, lithium carbonate had risen roughly 56 percent from its low point in January 2025. Whether the rally will be sustained will depend on how quickly new supply comes online and whether demand growth meets expectations, INN said. Some of those closed mines and production facilities may take a year or more to ramp back up.
Sodium Is Cheap And Abundant
Sodium batteries don’t use ordinary table salt, but the raw material — sodium — is cheap and abundant. The implications for the transition to electric vehicles is clear. Lithium-ion battery pack prices have declined by over 50 percent in the past few years. Sodium-ion prices are not all that much lower then lithium-ion today, but that is mostly because they are new to the market and have not benefited from the economies of scale that will come into play when megawatt-hours and then gigawatt-hours and then terawatt-hours of them have been manufactured.
The other thing to keep in mind about sodium batteries is their long life expectancy. 10,000 cycles is a lot, which makes them ideal for energy storage. Assuming 365 charge/discharge cycles a year, they would have an expected service life of nearly 30 years! That’s a statistic that should make those in the energy storage industry sit up and take notice.
We are just starting to hear about sodium batteries, but it seems safe to say we will be hearing much more in the months and years ahead — especially if the cost of lithium batteries keeps going up. At the present time, their energy density is too low for many automotive applications, but it is good to remember that not so long ago, LEDs were so dim that few thought they had any commercial uses. We predict we will be hearing much more about sodium batteries soon — make that very soon.
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