According to Cailianshe (CLS) on August 18, 2026 (reported by Securities Times and other media) and Jiemian News on August 18, the MIIT Working Group on Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries and Similar Products has officially launched a nail penetration survey test for sodium-ion batteries. The reports note that China's sodium-ion battery industrialization has accelerated rapidly in recent years; as battery safety standards continue to iterate, nail penetration testing, as a core test simulating mechanical abuse and verifying internal short-circuit risk, has become a key indicator in power battery safety assessment.
As sodium-ion battery technology industrializes rapidly and products move toward higher energy density and higher integration, cell structure, compaction density and thermal characteristics are being optimized while safety boundaries shift, placing higher demands on the standardization and precision of nail penetration testing. The working group has therefore launched this survey test covering products of different energy densities for systematic safety verification, helping companies identify safety hazards in advance, optimize product design, and supporting unified implementation of the industry standards system.
Domestic and international nail penetration test standards are not yet fully unified in test parameters, applicable objects and pass criteria; variables such as energy density gradient, material system, state of charge and cell aging degree directly affect thermal runaway thresholds and test results, causing pain points for enterprises in R&D verification and compliance pre-assessment, including ambiguous standard references, difficult cross-product comparison and inconsistent test data. Sodium-ion batteries have seen multiple standardization advances: in September 2025 MIIT released the industry standard 'Terminology and Vocabulary of Sodium-Ion Batteries' (SJ/T 12033-2025), effective March 1, 2026; in September 2025 four government departments including the National Energy Administration issued guidance proposing development of long-life, wide-temperature, low-degradation sodium battery key equipment; and in July 2026 the Ministry of Finance, GACC and SAT jointly announced exemption of consumption tax on sodium-ion batteries from September 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028. This nail penetration survey test is another key step in the standards system building.
It should be clarified that this is a 'survey test' rather than a 'mandatory standard release'; the binding force of the results, the specific participating companies and test parameter details are not disclosed. There remain multiple procedural steps from survey test to standard release to mandatory implementation, so the timeline for sodium-ion safety standards cannot yet be judged.