Foreign media report (SodiumBatteryHub, published August 14, 2026): Australian energy storage distributor Foton Pty Ltd has announced the sale of a 100kW/200kWh commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage system using sodium-ion chemistry. After reviewing publicly available projects and announcements, the company believes the deal may be the first commercially sold 100kW/200kWh sodium-ion C&I BESS in Australia. Foton managing director Krishna Thota announced the news on LinkedIn on Wednesday, August 12. Foton is the exclusive Australian distributor for battery storage products from China-based manufacturer Cospowers, which broke ground on a 1.5GWh sodium-ion battery production line at its Changde factory in China in March 2024.
From a project background perspective, the system has a power rating of 100kW and an energy capacity of 200kWh — a small-to-medium short-duration configuration for commercial and industrial sites, suitable for demand management, improving solar self-consumption and supporting broader commercial energy strategies. Foton noted the system is not a pilot or lab unit, but a sold system with a customer and a practical use case. The significance lies in moving sodium-ion technology from discussion into a live commercial project: Australia has a mature storage market, but most installed systems use lithium-ion chemistry, so any commercial sodium-ion sale signals that buyers now have more chemistry choices. Foton also said Cospowers publishes sodium-ion battery performance data for Australian conditions to help buyers compare options.
"possibly the first in Australia" is Foton's own assessment based on public information; the transaction amount and specific customer name were not disclosed; the 100kW/200kWh scale is only a small-to-medium C&I configuration, not a large grid-scale project; the cell source (Cospowers' Changde 1.5GWh line) and performance data are based on Foton's statements and have not been independently verified.