CATL has announced the launch date and performance of its sodium-ion battery, declaring a full-scale competition with lithium-ion batteries. It is intended to attack the electric vehicle battery market with its competitive edge of low price and safety, but there are issues such as environmental pollution in the process of procuring raw materials, and attention is focused on how it will overcome the competitiveness of NCM batteries that have been consistently studied.

CATL announced at its recently held TECH DAY 2025 that it will begin mass production of its sodium-ion battery Naxtra from December 2025.

Sodium, also known as sodium (Na), is a chemical element belonging to the alkali metals with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is not produced in nature and can be extracted from compounds.

Sodium is highly reactive and therefore has limited utility as a metal.

Sodium-ion batteries are group 1 elements along with lithium (Li), number 3 on the periodic table, and their operating principles are similar to those of lithium-ion batteries, so a lot of research has been conducted on them in the past.

However, because its energy density is lower than that of NCM (nickel, cobalt manganese) and LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries, and it is heavy and bulky, it has not been popularized in electric vehicles until now.

CATL announced in 2021 that it would develop and commercialize sodium-ion batteries as next-generation batteries, and with this announcement, it appears that development has been completed.

According to data released by CATL, the energy density has been increased to 175Wh/kg. This is analyzed to be almost the same density as LFP batteries.

According to CATL's announcement, it is known that it can travel 500 km on a single charge.


It is also known that the volume problem, which was a disadvantage, was solved with the CTP (Cell To Pack) method.

Sodium, the raw material for sodium-ion batteries, is much cheaper than lithium. Another advantage is its lower price compared to LFP.

In addition, it has high electrochemical stability and does not show significant performance degradation at low temperatures.

Accordingly, it is expected to meet the secondary battery safety standards announced by China on April 15.

Enhanced safety standards include no thermal runaway, the ability to withstand any external impact, and the ability to withstand over 300 ultra-fast charging cycles without any issues.

According to a presentation at CATL Tech Day 2025, CATL's sodium battery has been shown to not explode even when crushed, punctured, or cut.


The reason sodium-ion batteries are safe despite the high reactivity of sodium is due to their compatibility with electrode materials.

Lithium batteries require highly reactive electrode materials for high energy density, but sodium-ion batteries are compatible with relatively stable electrode materials such as Prussian blue and oxide series, which have low chemical reactivity.

Although sodium itself is highly reactive, it can operate relatively stably in batteries.

Additionally, sodium ions are heavier and larger than lithium ions, so they move more slowly and react more mildly with the electrolyte.

It does not cause corrosion and dendrite growth problems lower than lithium in some solid and liquid electrolyte systems, and provides a relatively safe electrolyte environment.

Therefore, sodium ion batteries are composed of electrodes and electrolytes with chemically stable properties.It forms a battery system with low reactivity and excellent stability due to the combination of slow ion movement and low operating voltage.

According to the 'Sodium-ion Battery (SIBs) Technology Development Trends and Market Outlook (~'35)' report published by SNE Research in 2024, the price difference between sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs, based on LFP cathode materials) is expected to reach up to 24% in 2035.

This difference is based on LFP LIBs, which are known to be inexpensive among LIBs, and the gap compared to NCM cathode materials is expected to be even larger.

In addition to CATL, many companies are researching sodium-ion batteries in the global market.

Since CATL announced the development and production of sodium-ion batteries as next-generation batteries in 2021, BYD, Yadi, JAC, etc. are developing sodium-ion batteries. The planned production capacity of SIBs by Chinese companies is analyzed to be 464 GWh in 2035.

In addition to China, Faradion in the UK, Altris in Sweden, Tiamet in France, and Natron Energy in the US have announced plans to mass produce SIBs.

In Korea, Energy 11 has been developing the technology, and it is known that EcoPro BM was recently selected as the lead organization for the 'Sodium-ion Battery Cathode Material Development' project supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and is conducting research together with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute and Sungkyunkwan University.

Although CATL sent shockwaves through the industry by announcing the full-scale launch of sodium-ion batteries, it will take time for sodium-ion batteries to turn the lithium-ion battery market upside down despite their price competitiveness.

First of all, lithium-ion batteries can store more energy in the same size, so electric vehicles can drive a longer distance when the same CTP type battery is installed.

In addition, lithium-ion batteries provide a stable power supply and enable immediate power utilization, are already a standard technology in various industries, are highly reliable, and their performance is continuously being improved.

In addition, the low cost of raw materials is an advantage, but sodium, the raw material for sodium batteries, does not exist in nature but exists as compounds such as sodium carbonate, so it must be produced. However, the production process emits high levels of carbon dioxide, and the waste can cause water pollution, which is known to have a negative impact on the ecosystem.

In this regard, it seems that research related to this should also be conducted, as the situation may turn around for electric vehicles, which are eco-friendly vehicles that are supposed to prevent carbon emissions, to become the main culprit of carbon emissions.