CATL Sodium-Ion Batteries in Passenger Vehicles in July!

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.


Or support our Kickstarter campaign!

A lot of people have been skeptical about CATL’s new Naxtra sodium-ion batteries, wondering when they would appear in passenger vehicles. The wait is over. We have the answer. Following up on earlier announcements that sodium-ion batteries would be introduced to a wide range of products this year, CATL announced that the GAC Aion will enter mass production using CATL sodium-ion batteries in July, and JAC vehicles have also completed winter testing with with sodium batteries. The move was announced yesterday in China.

The big news is that CATL sodium-ion batteries will start getting put into mass-market vehicles in Q2, starting with the GAC Aion. That’s according to CATL CTO Gao Huan. Production capacity will expand more broadly to other areas as well, including passenger vehicles, construction machinery, and energy storage.

Added to that, CATL just announced a battery system called Tectrans, which provides solutions for a range of commercial vehicles. And, for the first time, it revealed a 45 kWh sodium-ion pack for light commercial vehicles. According to CATL, the battery pack can charge at temperatures as low as -30°C, and maintains 90% of capacity at -40°C. Versions of this battery pack will be available for vehicles and for swap use. JAC completed winter testing in light trucks and mid-sized vans.

Gao said that sodium batteries are ideal for high power discharge, with temperature rise no more than 5 degrees Celsius at a 5C charging rate, reducing thermal management needs. CATL is on its third-generation sodium-ion batteries. Several pack variants have been revealed, including ones for:

• High-speed charging at -15°C
• Charging at 45°C
• A 253 kWh pack good for 800 km of range
• Swap packs of 42, 56, and 81 kWh

At its tech day event in April 2025, CATL introduced its Naxtra series sodium-ion batteries, with an energy density of 175 Wh/kg.

It might be just in time, as lithium prices are on the rise again. Several Chinese battery makers are now manufacturing sodium-ion batteries — like HiNa, BYD, and CATL, and more — and there are other companies in Europe and the US, like Unigrid, doing so. CATL’s move toward sodium-ion technology has drawn more attention toward the technology since it’s the largest battery producer in the world. Additionally, leading battery manufacturer LG is starting a sodium-ion pilot line in China.