Massive 20 GWh sodium-ion battery manufacturing plant announced in China

While many lithium-ion battery manufacturers in China are sold out and struggling to keep pace with demand from the energy storage sector, investment is increasingly flowing not only to the ubiquitous lithium-ion technology but also, and substantially, to its key contender: sodium-ion batteries.

With the pipeline of sodium-ion manufacturing plants relentlessly expanding, Guangde Qingna Technology Co., Ltd. officially signed an agreement on Nov. 20 for its 20 GWh sodium-ion battery production project in the Suining Economic and Technological Development Zone, Sichuan Province.

The project represents a total investment of CNY 6 billion ($835.98 million). Once completed, it is expected to create synergies with existing sodium-ion industrial chain projects in the zone.

The Suining Economic and Technological Development Zone is emerging as a major hub for sodium-ion technology development, on the back of several large-scale industrial projects.

For instance, Wuhan Tian Na Technology is building a sodium-ion anode material industrialization base, backed by CNY 58 billion in investment, with a planned output of 130,000 t/year of hard-carbon negative-electrode material. SVOLT is also constructing an anode material project with a reported annual capacity of 1.3 million tonnes, potentially one of the largest sodium-ion anode facilities in the industry.

Furthermore, Suining Tian Na Energy plans another 20,000 t/year sodium-ion material plant with CNY 5.8 billion in investment, while Hive Energy is pursuing a 130,000 t/year sodium-ion negative-electrode material project, broadly aligned with Tian Na’s development.

Currently, the most notable sodium-ion battery production plant in China is the HiNa Battery facility in Fuyang, Anhui Province, built in cooperation with China Three Gorges Corporation and local authorities. The first 1 GWh phase came online in 2022, with the full plan targeting 5 GWh capacity.

Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a strong contender to lithium-ion technology, often promoted as a cheaper and more sustainable alternative due to sodium’s abundance and low extraction costs. However, they still face challenges before mass-market adoption, including higher costs compared with rapidly scaling lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

China currently leads the sector, both in technology development, driven by lithium-ion battery manufacturing heavyweights such as CATL, BYD, EVE and Huawei, and in deployment, with 100 MW-scale projects and multiple hybrid systems combining sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, and even grid-forming inverters.

Industry research projects China’s sodium-ion battery market to grow from 10 GWh in 2025 to 292 GWh by 2034, representing an average annual growth rate of roughly 45%. By 2030, China is expected to account for over 90% of global sodium-ion battery production.

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