On September 8, the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) published an industry analysis article on sodium-ion batteries (republished by 10jqka). Per CNESA DataLink global storage database statistics (incomplete count), as of July 2026, 34 Chinese companies had deployed 45 sodium-ion cell manufacturing bases across 20 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), with total planned capacity of 293.7 GWh - of which 25.2 GWh (about 8.6%) is commissioned and 268.5 GWh (about 91.4%) is under construction or in planning, indicating the industry is in transition from demonstration to scaled construction.
Regionally, capacity is concentrated in central and eastern China, led by Fujian, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Qinghai, Anhui and Guangdong, with eastern coastal areas accounting for nearly half. By investor type, three groups coexist: lithium battery giants (CATL, BYD, EVE Energy, Gotion, Penghui - the first to achieve GWh-scale delivery), sodium-focused startups (HiNa Battery, Zhongna Energy, King Sodium, Namei), and materials/cross-industry players (Do-Fluoride, Jiana Energy, Sodium Innovation, Tongxing) following a materials-to-cell integration path.
By cathode route, polyanion has 23 bases with 212.5 GWh planned (72.4%); layered oxide has 10 bases with 30.2 GWh (10.3%); dual-route has 10 bases with 42.5 GWh (14.5%); Prussian blue has 2 bases with 8.5 GWh (2.9%) and no commissioned capacity. Polyanion accounts for 49.6% of commissioned and 74.5% of under-construction capacity, leading both counts. On orders, globally signed sodium-ion storage orders exceed 100 GWh: CATL's 3-year 60 GWh agreement with HyperStrong set the single-order record; 8 domestic storage tenders totaling 170MW/512MWh landed this year, with sodium entering grid-scale storage mainly via Li-Na hybrid configurations, and storage expected to contribute about 40% of future orders. On financing, early-stage rounds (angel to Series B) exceeded 60% of H1 sodium-ion financing, with Series A most common, and cell production lines plus cathode/anode materials as core funding targets. CNESA and the China Electronic Standardization Institute will co-host the Sodium-Ion Battery Industry Chain and Standards Development Forum in Zigong, Sichuan on September 21-22.
Most of the 100+ GWh signed are medium-to-long-term framework agreements - signing does not equal delivery, and actual shipment pace depends on capacity ramp-up, grid-connection certification and policy implementation. Watch next: progress on industry chain and standards at the September 21-22 Zigong forum, and actual changes in commissioned-capacity utilization and sodium share in storage tenders.