THE West has fallen behind China in developing sodium-ion batteries, a breakthrough technology using saltwater rather than lithium, industry experts have told the Financial Times.
Researchers have found that retaining saltwater within the battery mix, allowing it to move between electrodes, significantly improves performance and could reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled metals used in lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles and backup power.
However, China leads sodium-ion cell manufacturing, with carmaker Changan developing the first mass-produced sodium-ion EV using cells from CATL, the sector’s dominant producer.
“The West has missed the boat,” said Max Reid of consultancy CRU Group, noting that scaling up production requires over $100m per plant – investment “we’re just seeing nothing of” outside China.
Several Western sodium-ion ventures have struggled, said the newspaper. California’s Natron Energy, backed by Mercuria, collapsed last year shortly after unveiling gigafactory plans, while Stanford spin-out Bedrock Materials also shut down, it said. Others, including GM, France’s Tiamat Energy and Germany’s Moll Batterien, are pressing ahead regardless.
China’s operating and planned sodium-ion capacity now exceeds 400 gigawatt hours, versus just 11 elsewhere, according to CRU. Altris CEO Christer Bergquist said major economies must decide whether they are comfortable depending on “batteries coming from a potential adversary.”
Sodium-ion cells are less energy-dense than lithium alternatives but perform better in extreme cold and could undercut them on price – UBS expects cost parity by 2027.
CATL has partnered with Dutch group Alfen to roll out sodium-ion storage systems across Europe from 2027, said the FT.
