Forget solid state batteries! Affordable battery with 500km range incoming thanks to next-gen sodium-ion breakthrough. And it’s heading for mass production next year.

CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited), the biggest supplier of EV batteries in the world, has confirmed details of a potentially game-changing sodium-ion battery chemistry that’s headed for high-volume production in 2026.

The Chinese battery giant has been developing sodium-ion batteries for close to five years, already collaborating with global carmakers like Chery on commercialisation of the low-cost technology.

And now it says the latest iteration of its ‘Sodium New Power Battery’ has achieved an energy density of 175Wh/kg (Watt-hours per kilogram), enough to deliver a more than 500km EV driving range.

To date, operational stumbling blocks for ‘NIB’ traction batteries have been their slightly lower energy density and longer charge times.

But CATL’s breakthrough development has brought that 175Wh/kg density figure close to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which typically range from 180-200Wh/kg. 

Its new sodium-ion battery also supports ‘5C’ ultra-fast charging rates for an 80 per cent charge in as little as 15 minutes (depending on charger output).

And this month the more energy dense, chemically stable and durable sodium-ion battery became the first in the world to be certified under China’s (GB 38031-2025) “Safety Requirements for Power Batteries of Electric Vehicles” meaning the technology meets required safety benchmarks for traction batteries in electric vehicles.

CATL is now set to become the first high-volume producer of NIB EV energy units, predicting over 40 per cent of passenger EVs in the Chinese domestic market could soon be powered by NIB batteries across a range of platforms (including battery swap formats).

According to CATL sodium-ion has a similar working principle to a lithium-ion battery. As in the more common lithium packs, sodium ions shuttle between the cathode and anode. But compared to lithium ions, sodium ions have a larger volume and higher requirements related to structural stability. And CATL said this had become a “bottleneck” for industrialisation.

The atomic weight/mass of a sodium atom is more than three times that of its lithium counterpart which creates additional mechanical stress translating to high deterioration of individual cells. But CATL’s development work has gone a long way towards conquering this shortcoming.

Which highlights NIB battery advantages. They are well suited to low-temperature environments (a lithium-ion weakness), have a smaller environmental footprint in terms of materials used in their construction and are cheaper to produce (sodium is close to 50 times cheaper than lithium). All of which has the potential to improve the viability of EV use in what are currently marginal scenarios.

CATL is targeting mass-production “supply readiness” for its latest ‘Sodium New Power Battery’ in 2026 with product rollout based on its customers’ model development cycles.

Stand-by for cheaper NIB batteries coming to a more affordable EV near you soon.