How the sodium-ion battery can energize the enterprise

How sodium-ion batteries work

Sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries function similarly. Both generate power by moving charged ions between an anode and a cathode. However, the ions they use to carry charge differ, and they each use different materials for their anodes and cathodes.

Lithium-ion batteries are like a high-performance sports car: fast, lightweight and powerful, but they're expensive to fuel and maintain. Sodium-ion, on the other hand, is like a reliable, heavy-duty work truck, because sodium ions are larger and heavier than lithium. It might not win a drag race, but it uses cheap, abundant fuel, is safer to operate and will work all day, every day, without issue.

Scientists pursued research on sodium- and lithium-ion batteries in parallel until the 1980s. Lithium was popularized for its much higher energy density, that is, its ability to pack more energy into a smaller space. But recent breakthroughs, particularly in hard-carbon anodes and layered-oxide cathodes, have narrowed the gap between sodium- and lithium-ion batteries. MIT Technology Review named sodium-ion batteries a breakthrough technology of 2026. And CATL, a manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, announced mass production of its Naxtra EV sodium-ion battery, achieving 175 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) earlier last year, making it the first mass-produced battery of its kind.

How sodium- and lithium-ion batteries compare

For procurement teams evaluating battery technologies, the five main points of comparison between sodium-ion and lithium-ion are the following:

• Energy density. Sodium-ion cells currently achieve between 100 Wh/kg and 175 Wh/kg, compared to 150 Wh/kg and 300 Wh/kg for lithium-ion cells.
• Voltage characteristics. Sodium-ion cells operate at slightly lower average voltages of about 3.0V to 3.2V compared to lithium-ion's 3.2V to 3.7V.
• Cycle life and degradation. Sodium-ion cells have demonstrated more than 10,000 charge cycles in stationary applications, competitive with or exceeding that of lithium-ion cells.
• Charging characteristics. Sodium-ion batteries can charge faster with fewer issues than many lithium-ion batteries. They don't have the risk of lithium plating and mechanical degradation of the battery materials.
• Material composition and supply chain. This is the biggest difference between the two. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element on Earth, with a supply that's effectively inexhaustible and geographically distributed. Sodium-ion uses iron, manganese or copper, which are all much easier to source than the cobalt and nickel used in lithium-ion technology. This removes the two materials most associated with supply chain risk, price volatility and environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns.

Benefits of the sodium-ion battery

Sodium-ion batteries provide a number of benefits over lithium-ion batteries, including the following:

• Abundant raw materials. Sodium comes from common salt, which refiners can source from dozens of stable markets. Lithium is available from only a handful of countries. For procurement officers managing geopolitical exposure, this is an advantage that doesn't fluctuate with commodity supply-and-demand cycles.
• Enhanced safety profile. Sodium-ion chemistry carries a lower thermal risk than nickel-based lithium-ion. Manufacturers and logistics providers can transport and store fully discharged cells without degradation, providing a logistics and safety advantage that also reduces compliance issues in regulated environments.
• Environmental sustainability. Removing cobalt and reducing lithium dependency reduces the environmental and social footprint of battery production. For organizations with Scope 3 emissions targets or ESG reporting requirements, sodium-ion's material profile is easier to defend to stakeholders.
• Performance in extreme conditions. Sodium-ion batteries retain capacity at temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius, whereas lithium-ion batteries degrade sharply at these temperatures. This makes sodium-ion batteries useful for cold-climate deployments, such as grid infrastructure in northern regions and backup power systems in unheated facilities.

Sodium-ion battery applications and use cases

Enterprise applications of sodium-ion batteries include the following:

• Grid-scale energy storage. This is one of the strongest use cases for sodium-ion batteries. In September 2025, Peak Energy deployed a 3.5 megawatt-hour (MWh) sodium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Solar Technology Acceleration Center in Colorado, which was the first U.S. grid-scale sodium-ion installation. Peak claimed the system would achieve a 33% decrease in battery degradation over its 20-year lifespan.
• Backup power systems. In 2025, Phenogy deployed Europe's largest sodium-ion BESS near Bremen Airport in Germany, providing 400 kilowatts of power and 1 MWh of storage within a containerized system. Sodium-ion backup power is an ideal fit for airports and industrial settings, which require backup power systems with a long cycle life, safety in populated environments and tolerance for ambient temperature variation.
• Electric vehicles. Sodium-ion technology is increasingly recognized as a viable alternative for the automotive industry, particularly in market segments where affordability and safety are prioritized over range. Sodium-ion batteries have a lower risk of thermal runaway, in which overheating can lead to fires or explosions, than traditional nickel-based lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, they perform better in extreme climates.
• Industrial equipment and consumer electronics. Lower cost and improved safety make sodium-ion an attractive option for factories, stationary industrial uninterruptible power supply systems and lower-capacity consumer electronics. These applications are in early stages, but their use is growing as cell availability increases.

Implementation considerations

Sodium-ion cells exhibit different voltage and capacity characteristics than lithium-ion cells, making direct drop-in replacement rarely possible. Therefore, it's important for businesses to engage with vendors early to understand what system redesign will be required.

Most existing battery management system (BMS) platforms are calibrated for lithium-ion, so sodium-ion deployments require adjusted algorithms and protection thresholds. Businesses should confirm BMS compatibility from their vendor before committing to deployment.

While sodium-ion's lower thermal runaway risk simplifies some safety requirements, standard protocols still apply for confined spaces, transport and maintenance. Cells discharged to zero volts require reactivation before commissioning. The global recycling infrastructure is less mature for sodium-ion batteries than for lithium-ion batteries, though the absence of cobalt reduces the need for recovery capabilities. Businesses should include end-of-life planning in procurement evaluations, particularly for grid-scale deployments.

Marius Sandbu is a cloud evangelist for Sopra Steria in Norway who mainly focuses on end-user computing and cloud-native technology.