Reversal! Poly-anionic sodium batteries may become another major player in the sodium battery market

The year 2026 is regarded as the first year for the large-scale application of sodium batteries. The industry is shifting from technological exploration to the hard work of achieving mass production.

It is worth noting that in the field of sodium batteries, the layered oxide technology route that once led the way with high energy density is now being chased by the poly-anionic (such as NFPP composite iron phosphate sodium) technology route.

This transformation of the pattern is the result of a comprehensive competition among the sodium battery industry in terms of cost, safety, supply chain, and scene adaptability. It is also a significant choice for the sodium battery industry to shift from "competing on parameters" to "competing on value".

01

Industry enterprises are significantly increasing their investment in the polyanion technology route.

The strategic choices made by industry enterprises have accelerated the process of the polyanion technology route challenging for the dominant position in the emerging field.

In January 2026, the cathode material production base for poly-anionic sodium ferric sulfate located in Meishan, Sichuan Province by Zhongna Energy officially went into operation. This will facilitate the implementation of at least a 5GWh capacity plan for sodium batteries in the future.

In the same month, Jiansa Energy announced that the second phase project of its 100,000-ton per year cathode material production base for poly-anionic sodium batteries in Zigong, Sichuan Province has been launched.

Innovation Energy New Materials focuses on the polyanion NFPP series of materials. After completing the construction of the first phase of the 10,000-ton production line in March 2025 and achieving a batch supply capacity of over 5,000 tons per year, in 2026, it plans to build new production capacity of no less than 20,000 tons per year.

As one of the leading enterprises in high-pressure dense lithium iron phosphate cathode materials, Longpan Technology is also actively laying out the business of sodium battery cathode materials. Its subsidiary, Shandong Na Yuan, was officially established on February 6, 2026, and simultaneously completed the construction of a pilot production line for 5,000 tons of NFPP poly-anionic cathode materials. Moreover, this production line has already achieved mass production.

The industrial data also confirm the shift in the technical route. Starting from the second half of 2025, the shipment of polyanionic cathode materials has gradually soared. According to the data from institutions, in 2025, the global shipment of sodium battery cathode materials was approximately 20,000 tons, with a year-on-year growth of 122.2%. Among them, the shipment of polyanionic cathode materials was approximately 14,000 tons, increasing by more than 360% year-on-year, accounting for about 70%; the shipment of layered oxide cathode materials was 5000 tons, with a year-on-year decrease of 16.6%.

Industry insiders predict that the sodium battery industry will continue to accelerate in 2026. The shipment volume of sodium battery cathode materials, especially poly-anionic materials, is expected to maintain a high growth trend, and the growth rate in applications such as energy storage will be relatively fast.

02

Core logic: The diverse advantages enable polyanions to "rise to the top" and become the main players in the market.

The poly-anion cathode material outperforms layered oxide cathode materials. The core lies in specifically addressing the shortcomings of layered oxide materials, thereby establishing its own advantages in terms of cost, safety, lifespan, and compatibility with various scenarios.

In terms of cost, the composite sodium-iron-phosphorus polyanionic cathode material is mainly composed of sodium, iron and phosphorus. The raw material reserves are relatively abundant and the prices are relatively low. Compared with the layered oxide material system, the cost of this material system is lower and is more in line with the cost-sensitive market demands of some sectors such as energy storage and base stations.

Meanwhile, compared with lithium batteries, Junsan Energy disclosed to the media earlier this year that as its large-scale production capacity is released, the price range of sodium electrode materials is expected to drop to "10,000 yuan + per ton", and the cost advantage is expected to exceed that of lithium iron phosphate electrode materials by more than 50%.

In terms of safety, the data shows that the layered oxide cathode material has an easily transformable structure and relatively weak thermal stability; while the composite sodium phosphate iron relies on a poly-anionic stable framework and usually can meet the requirements for an 8-10-year cycle life for energy storage.

In terms of scene adaptation, the polyanionic cathode material maintains a capacity retention rate of over 92% at -20℃, and can also be stably discharged at -50℃. This enables the resolution of the problem of low-temperature degradation in new energy battery systems, and it can be adapted to complex environments such as high altitudes, humidity, and low temperatures.

However, it is necessary to clarify that although poly-anionic sodium batteries such as composite sodium iron phosphate will gradually become another "major force" in the sodium battery market, they are not a complete replacement for layered oxide sodium batteries.

The latter, with its higher energy density and excellent rate performance, will still dominate in scenarios such as fast charging. This will lead to a "market application pattern of complementary scenarios".

From the fact that the market share of poly-anionic sodium batteries has surpassed that of layered oxide sodium batteries, the essence is to use composite phosphate iron sodium and other poly-anionic sodium batteries, which can achieve lower costs, higher safety, longer cycle life, and wider adaptability. They can precisely meet the core demands of the current downstream industries for the large-scale implementation of sodium batteries.

With its stable three-dimensional framework structure and extreme cost reduction potential, the polyanion technology route overcomes the shortcomings of layered oxide materials such as cycle degradation and insufficient low-temperature performance.

With the optimization of production processes by leading enterprises, continuous decline in material costs, and achieving new breakthroughs in energy density, 2026 is expected to be a crucial year for poly-anionic sodium batteries to "expand their territory" in the sodium battery market. For the sodium battery industry, this is not only an optimization of material selection, but also an important step in promoting sodium batteries to truly enter millions of households and become another pillar technology route and core growth driver of new energy storage. It may accelerate the large-scale penetration of sodium batteries in fields such as energy storage, distributed backup power, and transportation electrification in China, and contribute to the construction of new power systems and the realization of the "carbon neutrality" goal.