As the world continues to require more clean and reliable energy, sodium battery technology is garnering increasingly more attention. With lithium resources becoming increasingly rare and expensive, sodium - an abundant and inexpensive alternative - is poised to revolutionize the energy storage industry.
Sodium-ion batteries are a technology that employs sodium ions (Na⁺), instead of lithium ions (Li⁺), to release and store energy. The basic components of a sodium ion battery are, like in Lithium-ion batteries:
Anode: During charging, sodium ions are stored here.
Cathode: Forces sodium ions here during discharging.
Electrolyte: Permits ion flow between the electrodes.
Sodium cells behave like lithium-ion cells: ions are shuttled between electrodes. However, the ion radius of sodium being bigger than lithium warrants one to make some modifications in materials and engineering design.
Very Abundant: Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in Earth's crust, being everywhere.
Easy to Extract: It can be easily extracted from seawater or from salt mines.
Price Stability: Sodium price remains comparatively stable and does not fluctuate much as opposed to lithium or cobalt.
Sodium is a stable, scalable and relatively inexpensive energy storage alternative to lithium, which has supply chain constraints impeding its wide application and is price volatile.
No rare earth metal usage: No requirement of rare metals such as cobalt or nickel.
Easily recyclable: Reduced environmental impact and easier to recycle.
Geopolitical advantages: Sodium resources are plentiful and not controlled by a few countries.
All these advantages make sodium batteries a better option for countries looking for energy independence and clean production.
Because the graphite anode of the traditional lithium battery is insufficiently spacious to allow sodium ions to penetrate, some scientists began resorting to using hard carbon, a loosely packed carbon that can allow ample space for the passage of sodium ions.
Breakthrough: A maximum energy density of 170 Wh/kg has been claimed by some firms that have doped hard carbon with tin (Sn) or other dopants.
The sodium-ion battery cathode must also be optimized:
NaVPO (sodium vanadium phosphate): It is very stable and possesses a high energy density.
Organic cathodes such as TAQ: These materials retain their performance after thousands of cycles.
Research Area: From MIT, the TAQ cathode offers not only high energy density but also good cycle performance and thus emerges as a greener alternative to conventional metal electrodes.
| Feature | Sodium Battery | Lithium-ion Battery |
| Energy Density | ~160–200 Wh/kg | ~200–250 Wh/kg |
| Cost | 30–40% lower | Higher due to rare metals |
| Temperature Tolerance | Better low-temp stability | Moderate |
| Resource Availability | Very high | Limited and volatile |
| Environmental Impact | Lower | Higher |
While lithium-ion still leads in energy density, sodium batteries are closing the gap, particularly in stationary and grid-level applications.
Sodium-ion technology moved from the lab to the market, with major players expanding investments:
CATL (China): introduced second-generation sodium battery with 200Wh/kg capacity.
BYD: expanding sodium battery production capacity.
Faradion (UK) and HiNa Battery (China): validating stationary energy storage and electric scooter use cases.
Global demand for sodium is growing since it enables battery manufacturers to break the production dependence on the lithium supply chain, ensuring price stability and access to resources.
While they possess terrific opportunities, sodium batteries still face a series of issues:
Lower energy density: Sodium batteries are less energy-dense than lithium batteries.
Heavier weight: The heavier weight makes sodium batteries less preferred in the high-end electric vehicles.
Limited large-scale manufacturing infrastructure: Large-scale manufacturing infrastructures are not yet established.
However, ongoing R&D is rapidly bridging the gaps, with innovative cathode and electrolyte formulations moving closer to meeting sodium battery performance with lithium battery performance.
At Huijue Group, we are committed to leadership in innovation in the energy storage arena. With the global interest in sodium battery solutions growing ever stronger, Huijue is moving fast to create:
Next-generation BESS (battery energy storage systems) that are completely compatible with both lithium- and sodium-based chemistries.
Custom containerized solutions for utility and C&I customers.
Innovative thermal control and EMS integration to enable safe and intelligent operation of sodium batteries.
Products tackling 5MWh system demands, smart grid, and stabilization of renewable energy.
Explore our full range of products to find out how Huijue is rewriting the book on sustainable energy storage with major breakthroughs.
Sodium batteries are a powerful new energy storage paradigm – affordable, sustainable, and technologically feasible. Due to frenzied materials science innovation and relentless industry support, sodium batteries have moved from concept to commercial possibility.
With this technology coming into being, firms like Huijue Group are poised to provide platforms and systems to make sodium-based energy storage not only viable, but profitable and scalable.
