On September 8, the China Battery Industry Network's 2026 battery industry chain research tour visited Chaowei Group in Changxing, Huzhou, Zhejiang, holding discussions with group executive assistant to the chairman Yang Yuanling, Anqing Chaoren Energy general manager Fan Ming, and central research institute deputy dean Liu Yuexue, among others. Per the CBEA report on September 9, Chaowei - a leading domestic lead-acid battery maker - has positioned sodium-ion batteries as the group's second growth engine and is building an integrated system spanning upstream materials, cell manufacturing, system integration and end applications.
On cell manufacturing, Chaowei is advancing capacity at its Changxing and Anqing bases with planned sodium-ion capacity of 3 GWh/yr combined, partially commissioned; its sodium-ion cells reach 110-120 Wh/kg energy density and have shipped at scale in the electric two-wheeler market, supplying OEMs including Yadea, Tailg and Sunra (all company-disclosed figures).
On the industry chain, per the disclosure, Chaowei began sodium-ion R&D in 2019 and has completed multiple rounds of technology and product iteration: upstream, through in-house development and strategic investment it has built capabilities in cathode, hard-carbon anode and electrolyte, covering NFPP (sodium iron pyrophosphate, polyanion route), NFS (sodium iron sulfate) and other routes, in collaboration with material partners; applications cover two-wheelers, energy storage and electric vessels. Chaowei has also partnered with General Electric to co-develop sodium-nickel-chloride (ZEBRA-type) batteries for storage, special equipment and oil/mine operations. The company also noted industry bottlenecks: hard-carbon anode supply shortages, lack of industry standards, and relatively high costs.
3 GWh is a planned-capacity figure - planned capacity does not equal actual capacity, and the commissioned share and utilization rate are undisclosed; energy density and shipment figures are company-disclosed from the research meeting; no mass-production timetable was given for the sodium-nickel-chloride program.