In 2025, the shipment volume of sodium batteries in China will exceed 8 GWh. By 2030, it may reach 435 GWh.

Recently, the research institutions EVTank, Ivi Economic Research Institute, and the China Battery Industry Research Institute jointly released the "White Paper on the Development of Sodium-Ion Batteries in China (2026)".

The data shows that in 2025, the shipment volume of sodium-ion batteries in China reached 8.1 GWh. The top enterprises in terms of shipment volume were Weike Technology, Hai Sidai, Ningde Time, Fudi Battery, and Pai Neng Technology, etc.

In the white paper, EVTank stated that in 2025, sodium-ion batteries achieved large-scale application in core scenarios such as energy storage, two-wheel vehicles, power, and start-stop power supply. Innovative models such as AIDC integrated storage and "lithium-sodium synergy" emerged continuously, driving the accelerated growth of sodium-ion battery shipment volume.

From the specific application scenarios, in 2025, sodium-ion batteries were mainly applied in the energy storage field, accounting for more than 60%; followed by two-wheel vehicles, new energy vehicles, and start-stop power supply, etc.

From the technical routes, in 2025, the cathode materials of sodium-ion batteries, the poly-anion route, with low cost and cycle performance advantages, accounted for more than 70% of the shipment volume, surpassing layered oxides and becoming the current mainstream cathode material technology for sodium-ion batteries; the anode material hard carbon route remained the absolute mainstream, accounting for more than 90%.

The white paper on the development of sodium-ion batteries in China (2026)

Looking forward to the future, the new regulations on battery consumption tax will be officially implemented on September 1, 2026. Sodium-ion batteries will be exempt from consumption tax until the end of 2028, while lithium batteries will resume taxation. The tax exemption period of more than two years is expected to help sodium-ion battery enterprises reduce comprehensive tax burden costs, compress product terminal pricing, and accelerate the cost parity process between sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries.

From the downstream applications, the development path of sodium-ion batteries is not a complete replacement of lithium batteries, but rather relies on its own cost and performance advantages to create a differentiated layout focusing on energy storage as the main part, supplemented by power as the secondary part, and special scenarios as the supplementary part, precisely matching the specific market demands.

Energy storage is the core field where sodium-ion batteries achieve the largest-scale expansion first. Energy storage has low requirements for battery volume and weight, and values safety, cycle life, low-temperature performance, and electricity cost. It is highly compatible with the advantages of sodium-ion batteries and can cover high-altitude energy storage, data center backup power, grid peak shaving, industrial and commercial energy storage, etc.

At the same time, the rapid development of AI industries has driven a rapid increase in the power consumption of AIDC computing centers, bringing a huge demand for storage. Sodium batteries have core advantages such as high-rate charging and discharging, long cycle life, short-time high-power output, and can precisely counterbalance the voltage fluctuations and frequency disturbances caused by AIDC computing load fluctuations.

Sodium-ion batteries can also form a lithium-sodium synergy energy storage solution with "sodium battery controlling peak, lithium battery maintaining duration" as the core architecture, with complementary short-term and long-term power and adaptability to different cycle rates and conditions, perfectly meeting the energy storage needs of AIDC. In the future, energy storage will become one of the most core application fields of sodium-ion batteries.

In the field of power batteries, the focus is on mid-range and special application vehicle models. The current performance of sodium-ion batteries can already meet the needs of electric two-wheel vehicles, and they will be the first to replace lead-acid batteries and some lithium batteries in the electric two-wheel and three-wheel vehicle fields; due to energy density constraints, the application of sodium-ion batteries in the field of new energy vehicles has not been as expected, mainly suitable for entry-level micro electric vehicles, short-distance trucks, and light trucks. With the increased layout by leading companies such as Ningde Time and BYD, it is expected that the penetration rate of sodium-ion batteries in the low-end new energy vehicle field will gradually increase.

The white paper on the development of sodium-ion batteries in China (2026)

With the continuous breakthroughs in technology and performance of sodium-ion batteries, coupled with the gradual improvement of the industrial chain and the gradual release of scale effects, the cost advantage of sodium-ion batteries will gradually be reflected. EVTank in the "White Paper on the Development of Sodium-Ion Batteries in China (2026)" predicts that the actual shipment volume of sodium-ion batteries will reach 435 GWh in 2030.