On August 30, CNR's Sichuan channel published the in-depth report 'Sodium's Golden Window - Can Sichuan Build Another Battery Capital?', covering sodium industry layouts across Zigong, Meishan, Suining, Neijiang, Dazhou and Bazhong. Key points: first, on orders, upstream Jiana Energy's signed orders exceed 11,000 tonnes with products in short supply despite capacity not yet fully released; Meishan Zhongna Energy is in talks with leading two-wheeler makers; Suining Qingna Energy has stable customer resources in low-speed vehicles; Zigong Xingchu Century's customers are concentrated among central and state-owned enterprises.
Second, on costs, Xingchu Century's Sodium Research Institute Director Su Heng said cell costs are roughly on par with lithium (slightly higher for sodium), but integrated system product prices are still 30% higher, expecting sodium-lithium cost parity by end-2027; Jiana Energy's Liu Hai said 'at equal scale, sodium costs could be 30% lower than lithium', with the gap mainly due to unramped output, and energy consumption (utilities) being the largest cost item.
Third, on applications, Zigong's PV-storage-charging demonstration has run over 1,000 days at 85% round-trip efficiency, half of Zigong Lantern Festival sightseeing vehicles use sodium, and Xingchu Century built the world's first plateau sodium storage project in Zhongba County, Tibet. Fourth, on foundations, Meishan's 10,000-tonne sodium iron sulfate cathode base started production in January, and Neijiang signed 8 projects at the May Chengdu-Chongqing sodium industry conference (Zhongna 5GWh, Shenweiye 10GWh, etc.), with a 17-project application list totaling CNY 3.6 billion in investment.
The report also presents the sober side: Qingna Energy's head said 'sodium currently costs more than LFP mainly because sodium is not yet widespread'; Yingna New Materials Chairman Wang Yaping sees sodium's core market in storage, 'not fully replacing lithium but filling gaps left by lithium and lead-acid'; Sodium Yuanxin Materials Chairman Liu Zhongqing sees 2026-2028 as the incubation period with scale ramp after 2028; Morgan Stanley forecasts sodium-ion reaching about 20% of global battery deployment by 2030 (about 2% in 2027).