Sodium-Ion Batteries
Geography: Asia Pacific · East Asia · China
CATL launched Naxtra in April 2025 as the world's first mass-produced sodium-ion battery brand, with large-scale deployment beginning in 2026. The chemistry uses hard carbon anodes and Prussian blue cathodes, sidestepping lithium, cobalt, and nickel entirely.
Sodium-ion matters because it breaks the resource bottleneck. Lithium prices spiked 400% in 2022, exposing the fragility of lithium-dependent supply chains. Sodium is extracted from seawater and salt deposits — effectively unlimited. BYD is also building a 30 GWh pilot line in Qinghai.
The tradeoff: sodium-ion has ~30% lower energy density than lithium-ion, making it better suited for stationary storage, city EVs, and grid backup than long-range vehicles. MIT Technology Review named it a top-10 breakthrough for 2026.
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