Speeding up the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries: Heavy-duty trucks enter the commercial promotion stage, with more products applied to the energy storage sector

Why can AI · sodium-electric heavy trucks quickly be compatible with existing charging infrastructure?

《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》 April 2 (Reporter Wang Chufan) New developments are frequently emerging in the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries.

Among them, policy guidance points the way for sodium-electric heavy trucks and energy storage equipment; Sinochem Haimee (Zhongke Hainai) has achieved commercialization of sodium-electric heavy trucks, and this year it will deliver hundreds of units; companies including CATL, BoNa New Energy, and Envision Power are rolling out rapidly in areas such as passenger vehicles, energy storage, and production line construction.

Although the cost of sodium batteries is still higher than that of lithium iron phosphate, their differentiated advantages—such as a wide operating temperature range and long service life—are increasingly showing up. In the view of industry insiders, 2026 may officially mark the first year of large-scale applications.

Sodium-electric heavy-truck sector enters the stage of commercial promotion

In March 2025, 10 departments including the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued relevant guiding opinions, setting a goal of achieving large-scale application of new-energy commercial heavy trucks by 2035; in October of the same year, the National Energy Administration and other departments further clarified that it is necessary to develop key energy storage equipment such as long-life, wide-temperature-range, and low-attenuation sodium batteries, accelerating the construction of an industrial ecosystem.

A research report from Huaxi Securities states that sodium batteries have shifted from a development stage driven by cost anxiety caused by high lithium carbonate prices in the early period, to a stage of large-scale mass production with mature technology and a clear business model.

Li Shujun, General Manager of Sinochem Haimee (Zhongke Hainai), said that the small-batch fast-charging solution for sodium-electric heavy trucks is fully compatible with China’s existing charging systems and requires no modification to charging infrastructure. It is best suited for short-haul transportation scenarios such as mines and docks. Regarding improvements in sodium energy density, he revealed that current laboratory results have already reached 180Wh/kg, and after solid-state development it will be further improved.

On orders, Li Shujun told reporters from 《Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily》 that the company currently has several hundred sodium-electric heavy trucks on hand, and it will deliver about 200 units this year, showing that sodium-electric heavy trucks have moved from the technology-validation stage into the commercial promotion stage. It is expected that next year orders will increase to several thousand units, entering a stage of large-volume sales. In energy storage, discussions involve orders of more than 500MWh, and the expected deliveries this year are 300-400MWh.

As for the core value of sodium, in Li Shujun’s view, the current cost of sodium-electric heavy-truck battery cells is about 0.4-0.5 yuan/Wh, leaving only a small gap versus lithium batteries. The key variable for driving the two to reach cost parity has shifted from “scale + energy density” to “scale,” and a clear cost crossover point is expected to emerge after 2027. Regarding competition with lithium iron phosphate, he said the two will coexist in the long term. Sodium batteries will seize sub-sectors such as energy storage and low-temperature commercial vehicles by leveraging characteristics like a wide temperature range and long service life. If sodium captures 20% of the lithium iron phosphate market share, it would reach a scale on the order of several hundred GWh.

More products are being applied to the energy storage sector

Since 2026, the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries has accelerated significantly. Leading enterprises such as BoNa New Energy and CATL have stepped up efforts one after another, driving the industry to move from technical validation into the stage of commercial application in an all-round way.

Among them, on March 30 this year, BoNa New Energy’s Phase I project—an annual production of 2GWh sodium-ion batteries funded with an investment of 620 million yuan—was completed and put into operation in Harbin. This makes it the first gigawatt-class pure sodium-ion battery production line in Northeast China. Its products can maintain more than 90% of their charge in a -40℃ environment. They also feature advantages such as high C-rate capability, large capacity, and long service life, making them widely applicable in energy storage power stations, low-speed electric vehicles, and other fields. The Phase II project will build an annual production of 10,000 tons of anode material and 2GWh PACK energy storage integration systems, achieving coverage across the entire sodium battery industrial chain.

CATL has continued to step up efforts in sodium battery technology, covering all scenarios across passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and energy storage. On February 5 this year, Changan Automobile and CATL jointly released the world’s first mass-produced passenger vehicle equipped with the “NaXin” battery, with an expected launch in mid-year. The vehicle uses third-generation CTP technology, with a pure-electric range of over 400 kilometers. In a -30℃ environment, the vehicle’s discharge power is nearly 3 times higher than that of comparable lithium iron phosphate models, and at -40℃ the battery’s capacity retention rate remains above 90%.

Ni Jun, CATL’s Chief Manufacturing Officer, revealed that the “NaXin” battery will be mass-produced at large scale this year, with the highest energy density reaching 175Wh/kg. It is also planned that in 2026 the battery will be applied at large scale across four major areas—battery swapping, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and energy storage. A plan has been set to build more than 3,000 “Chocolates” battery swapping stations nationwide.

At the recently held 14th International Energy Storage Summit and Exhibition (ESIE 2026), CATL first displayed sodium-ion energy storage batteries dedicated for storage purposes. The battery uses a casing-platform design similar to the 587Ah lithium battery: capacity is over 300Ah, efficiency is 97%, and cycle life is over 15,000 cycles. It can cover 2-8 hours of large-scale energy storage and AIDC scenarios, with commercialization planned for this year.

During ESIE 2026, Envision Power released its first sodium-ion cell dedicated for energy storage and announced that production has already started. This marks that its sodium battery technology has entered the stage of large-scale application. The cell has a capacity of more than 180Ah, a cycle life no less than 20,000 cycles, and an operating temperature range covering -40℃ to 70℃. It can operate stably in both extreme cold and high-temperature environments. It breaks through the traditional energy-storage cell’s high dependence on temperature-control systems and can flexibly adapt to the needs of multiple application scenarios.

Nandu Power also showcased multiple cutting-edge technologies at ESIE 2026, including sodium-ion batteries. Its 783Ah high-capacity energy storage cell, 6.25MWh liquid-cooled system, and solid-state batteries, along with sodium-ion batteries, were unveiled simultaneously. The technology routes cover a comprehensive set of solutions.

It is worth noting that industrialization in this sector still faces multiple challenges. Wang Kexin, Chairman of Huayang Group Industry Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., believes: “Using sodium-ion batteries in existing electric vehicles means that, for the same energy intensity, volume will increase by one-third. If you want to replace two-wheel low-speed electric vehicles, the cost is slightly higher than lead-acid batteries. In energy storage, it has absolute advantages, but currently there are too few energy storage projects. Overall, the number of application scenarios for sodium-ion batteries is limited.”

In terms of costs, data shows that the current average price of sodium batteries is about 0.45-0.5 yuan/Wh, higher than the 0.3-0.4 yuan/Wh for lithium iron phosphate. In terms of energy density and cycle life, leading enterprises have already reached relatively high levels, but the industry average remains low. In market recognition, sodium batteries’ advantages in scenarios such as energy storage are clear, while penetration in passenger vehicles still needs improvement.

(Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily Reporter Wang Chufan)