(Yicai) April 22 -- Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology will begin mass production of sodium-ion batteries in the fourth quarter of this year, a major step in bringing a safer and cheaper lithium alternative closer to commercial use.

The batteries have completed the verification process, Chief Technology Officer Gao Huan said at CATL’s Super Technology Day in Ningde yesterday. They can support about 300 kilometers of range in extended-range vehicles and 500 kilometers in battery electric vehicles, he noted.

Between the end of 2026 and the first half of next year, CATL plans to roll them out first in passenger vehicle battery-swapping systems, while also scaling supply for energy storage applications.

Sodium-ion batteries are still a novel technology and are expected to complement, rather than replace, lithium types. Their energy density is only about 160 watt-hour per kilogram, which makes them better suited for vehicles priced below CNY100,000 (USD14,660) or for A0-class models, also known as superminis.

The global market for sodium-ion batteries used in energy storage may reach 580 gigawatt-hours by 2030, while the automotive segment could exceed 410 GWh, research institute SPIR forecasts.

CATL Chairman Robin Zeng has said the technology could eventually capture 30 percent to 40 percent of the battery market. Rivals including BYD, Sunwoda Electronic, and Eve Energy are also cranking up development. Eve Energy launched its first large-capacity sodium-ion energy storage system at its Jingmen base last September.

The technology performs especially well in extreme conditions, Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at yesterday’s event.

At minus 30 degrees Celsius, sodium-ion batteries can deliver nearly three times the discharge power of lithium iron phosphate batteries with the same capacity, while retaining more than 90 percent of their capacity at minus 40 degrees, according to CATL.

The company also unveiled several new products at the event, including the third-generation Shenxing super-fast charging battery, which can fully charge in six minutes at room temperature, and the third-generation Kirin battery with an energy density of 280 Wh/kg and a range of 1,000 km.

Its Kirin condensed battery, which uses aviation-grade solid-state technology, has a range of up to 1,500 km.

Editor: Emmi Laine