Chinese battery powerhouse Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) announced at a recent supplier conference that it plans to deploy its sodium-ion battery technology at commercial scale across multiple sectors in 2026. The company described expanded applications in battery swap systems, passenger and commercial EVs, and energy storage.

In April 2025, CATL announced the launch of its sodium-ion battery brand, Naxtra, and said that large-scale production of sodium-ion cells had begun. These products are offered in both passenger-vehicle power-battery formats and a 24 V battery solution for heavy trucks.

In September 2025, CATL said its next-generation sodium-ion battery achieves specific energy of up to 175 Wh/kg, and can deliver a driving range of 500 km in passenger-vehicle applications. Advantages of the sodium-ion batteries compared with traditional lithium-ion chemistries include improved safety and improved low-temperature performance. CATL’s sodium-ion cells are designed to operate across a temperature range from -40° C to 70° C.

The company’s sodium-ion battery products have passed China’s latest national battery standard, GB 38031-2025, for EV traction batteries. The national standard, scheduled to take effect in mid-2026, sets stringent safety requirements for thermal stability, mechanical impact resistance and cycling performance.

CATL plans to follow a “dual-star” policy of developing its sodium-ion and lithium-ion battery technologies in parallel. Analysts cited by Car News China described the global sodium-ion battery industry as shifting from early commercialization toward scaled deployment, with current market use concentrated in energy storage and low-range vehicles, and predicted substantial growth in the sodium-ion market through 2030 as the technology finds its way into more passenger and commercial vehicles. In 2025, average sodium-ion cell prices remained significantly lower than those of lithium-ion equivalents.

Source: Car News China