CATL Presents Battery Innovations: Sodium Instead of Lithium

China-Speed in Battery Development CATL Presents Battery Innovations: Sodium Instead of Lithium—Speed over Waiting

2025-05-15 From Henrik Bork | Translated by AI 4 min Reading Time

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While everything at the Shanghai Auto Show currently revolves around new electric car models, battery manufacturer CATL had already presented its own innovations from the world of car batteries shortly before.

In the search for the superbattery, CATL has introduced "Naxtra," a sodium-ion battery.(Image: Redwood Materials) — In the search for the superbattery, CATL has introduced "Naxtra," a sodium-ion battery.
(Image: Redwood Materials)

At its first own Tech Day on April 21, 2025, in Shanghai, CATL surprised with technologies that have the potential to significantly change the rules of electromobility. At the center of the new introductions was "Naxtra," a newly introduced CATL brand for what the battery manufacturer calls "the world's first mass-produced sodium-ion battery." It is an advancement of the first generation of sodium-sodium batteries that CATL introduced in July 2021.

Since then, there have consistently been certain advancements over the years, but only now does CATL intend to finally declare the technology as ready for mass production.

Sodium Instead of Lithium

The most important aspect of Naxtra is that it replaces lithium with sodium, an element that is almost unlimitedly available in the earth's salt and can be extracted at a fraction of the cost. "Thanks to the abundant sodium resources, we can significantly reduce dependency on scarce lithium," emphasized Gao Huan, CTO for passenger cars and commercial vehicles at CATL, to the newspaper Lianhe Zaobao. Sodium-ion batteries could potentially "capture up to half" of the market for LFP batteries, CATL CEO Robin Zeng stated in an interview with the news agency Reuters. If this proves true, the prices for sodium-ion batteries could be lower than those of current battery types in the future. "The costs for sodium-ion batteries are constantly decreasing," said Ouyang Chuying, Co-President of the R&D department at CATL.

Cold-Resistant at Minus 40 Degrees Celsius (-104°F)

When it comes to cold resistance, Naxtra shows why some observers may not unjustly refer to it as a game changer. Even at minus 40 degrees Celsius (-104°F), the battery can still deliver 90 percent of its energy. Even in an almost depleted state, performance does not falter under extreme temperatures.

And the new technology also sets standards in terms of safety. In demanding tests such as crushing, drilling, or nail penetration, the batteries remained stable. They are "non-flammable, non-explosive," as Gao Huan emphasized.

Series Production in two Steps

CATL plans to begin mass production in two stages. Starting in June 2025, sodium-ion batteries are to be mass-produced as "24V start-stop batteries for commercial vehicles," and from December, they will also be produced for passenger cars.

However, with BYD, CATL continues to have a serious rival breathing down its neck. Only in March, BYD introduced a new rapid-charging battery, which is supposed to provide a range of 400 kilometers (approx. 249 miles) in just five minutes.

With the innovations presented at its Tech Day, CATL is now attempting to defend its leading position against BYD, which currently holds only about half the global market share of CATL but is continuously catching up.

Further Development of LFP Technology

A discernible part of CATL's strategy is to simultaneously advance multiple technologies: the new sodium-ion batteries, increasingly powerful lithium-ion batteries, and novel batteries with different types of cell chemistry featuring two separate energy zones.

Another important innovation introduced at the Tech Day is the second generation of CATL's Shenxing super-fast charging battery, which further reduces charging times at the station. It is an advanced version of the company's known LFP battery with higher energy density, enabling better performance. Announced are now 520 kilometers (approx. 323 miles) of range with five minutes of charging time, with a 12C charging rate and a charging power of 1.3 megawatts. This too sets "new world records," as a commentator on the Chinese automotive platform Chejiahao writes.

The new values not only imply that the battery could theoretically be fully recharged in just five minutes at normal temperatures but also that it could be "filled" from five to eighty percent within 15 minutes even at very low outdoor temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius (50°F).

At its Tech Day, CATL introduced three remarkable innovations.(Image: Asia Waypoint) — At its Tech Day, CATL introduced three remarkable innovations.
(Image: Asia Waypoint)

A third highlight of the Tech Day was the introduction of the "Freevoy Dual-Power Battery," a novel battery technology that combines two independent energy zones in one battery for the first time. The battery can use different cell chemistries depending on requirements, allowing it to adapt to varying power demands in different driving scenarios.

The first energy zone is optimized for everyday traffic, while the second is specifically optimized for long distances and uses CATL's "self-forming anode" technology to further increase energy density.

This is expected to allow peak ranges of over 1,500 kilometers (approx. 932 miles), for NCM-LFP for example, a value that indeed set new standards for electric vehicles. Freevoy relies on intelligent control of the two energy zones. Depending on driving style and conditions, a software algorithm decides which energy source is preferred. This keeps energy efficiency high in urban traffic while automatically activating the more powerful zone for long-distance travel. This battery technology can be used with different material systems: sodium-ion, LFP, or nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM). CATL emphasizes that the Freevoy architecture is not only intended for electric cars. Electric buses, heavy commercial vehicles, ships, and even airplanes could be future target markets. With this strategy, the company aims to extend its leading role beyond the automotive sector to new areas of electromobility and even stationary energy supply.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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Cost-Effective and Comfortable

So while the Shanghai Auto Show is currently dominating the headlines, it may actually have been CATL's Tech Day where groundbreaking innovations for the coming years of e-mobility were unveiled. The message from CATL is that driving electric cars and plug-in hybrids could soon become more cost-efficient, comfortable, and safer. (se)