The largest battery manufacturer in the world already has a date to make the definitive leap to sodium batteriesa chemistry that has been promising for years to unseat lithium in the entry-level range. Wu Kai, chief scientist at CATL and member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, confirmed at the Equipment Powerhouse Forum, held on May 30, that the manufacturing problems that were holding back production are now resolved, according to they counted from the Chinese media Sina. The goal is to reach 600 kilometers of autonomy on a single charge.
Why does it matter? Sodium is much more abundant and cheaper than lithium, so each battery made with this chemistry reduces dependence on a scarce and volatile raw material. For the consumer, this may end up translating into more affordable prices for the electric car, precisely in the segment where the electric car dominates today. lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
Of course, for CATL these batteries would be intended to rival the entry-level LFPs, but they will not be a substitute for the premium segment.
In detail. The company is not going to limit sodium to just one product. Your roadmaps they point to integrate it into passenger cars, commercial vehicles, battery exchange networks and energy storage infrastructure. The first versions will be used for economical cars and storage systems, while the company is simultaneously developing higher density cells to get closer to that 600 km figure that is currently reserved for more expensive configurations.
The news follows a recent milestone that saw CATL close a 60 GWh supply contract, the world’s largest order for sodium batteries to date, according to they point from CarNewsChina.
Competence. All of this is happening while CATL crushes the competition in traditional chemistries. According to data of China EV DataTracker, in April 2026 installed 29.06 GWh of batteries for electric vehicles, giving it 46.6% of the national market. Of that volume, almost 19.53 GWh were LFP and 9.53 GWh were nickel-manganese-cobalt ternary packs. Sodium does not replace these lines, but rather opens a parallel production path.
Between the lines. It is worth remembering where this comes from. CATL has already presented its Naxtra range of sodium batteries, with a version for passenger cars that reached 175 Wh/kg of energy density, the highest recorded in this chemistry, according to the company itself in 2025 and promising about 500 km of autonomy and more than 10,000 charging cycles.
In addition, sodium provides a safety advantage, since by eliminating materials prone to combustion, it reduces the risk of fire compared to other chemicals.
And now what. Sodium is just the short-term part. Looking ahead, CATL is already reorienting its research towards lithium-air batterieswhich use oxygen from the air as a reagent and promise energy densities much higher than those of current systems, whether liquid or solid-state electrolyte. We will have to wait to find out more information about it.
Cover image | CATL
In Xataka | Starting in July, all new cars manufactured will incorporate an annoying novelty: many more beeps
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings