(Yicai) May 13 -- Shares in Shanghai Pret Composites surged today after the Chinese composite materials supplier, which has been expanding into the battery sector in recent years, said that a subsidiary will sell 1.5 gigawatt-hours of sodium-ion batteries to Shanghai Hirano Environmental Technology, marking the firm's first big order for sodium batteries.

Pret’s stock price [SHE:002324] closed up 1.2 percent at CNY10.70 (USD1.48) in Shenzhen today. Earlier in the day it jumped 4.9 percent to CNY11.09.

Jiangsu Highstar Battery Manufacturing, in which Pret Composites is a majority shareholder, will supply Shanghai-based Hirano with sodium batteries in batches from this month to December 2026, Pret Composites said today, citing the deal recently inked by the two parties.

Highstar plans to deepen its tie-up with Hirano to explore the special electric vehicle market worldwide and expand its global footprint for sodium batteries, Pret Composites added.

Highstar supplies sodium batteries to some of the world’s biggest makers of electric forklifts, low-speed vehicles and other commercial autos, such as India's Exicom Tele Systems and Japan’s Komatsu, Pret Composites said. Komatsu will soon start using the firm’s sodium batteries in its 1.5-ton electric forklifts.

Highstar, which specializes in energy storage solutions such as lithium batteries, entered the sodium battery sector in December 2022 when the Nantong-based firm said it will invest CNY218 million (USD30.1 million) to build a 1.3 GWh sodium battery factory.

Sodium batteries are cheaper to produce than lithium-ion batteries, are able to perform in lower temperatures and are safer to use. They can be used instead of lithium batteries when there are low energy density requirements. As the technology continues to be upgraded, they are beginning to be applied in electric vehicles.

Editor: Kim Taylor