US sodium-ion energy storage sector gains momentum amid Chinese competition and domestic coalition formation

The sodium-ion energy storage sector in the United States is trying to build momentum at a difficult moment, as a new industry coalition forms and a key domestic supplier moves to expand its commercial push.

According to CleanTechnica, the newly launched American Battery Leadership Coalition brings together companies across the sodium-ion supply chain, from materials and components to systems and applications. It is chaired by Alsym Energy chief executive Graeme Grant, with Peak Energy vice-president Edward McGlone as vice chair, and counts nine initial members, including Mana Battery, Ingevity, Re:Build Manufacturing, Microporous, NAION, Batri and ESS.

The coalition’s emergence comes as US battery developers contend with a policy environment that has become less predictable since the return of Donald Trump’s administration, even as the administration continues to talk up domestic energy dominance. For storage companies, the stakes are high: batteries are central to making wind and solar power dispatchable, and sodium-ion chemistry is increasingly being viewed as a credible alternative to lithium-ion in selected grid applications.

That commercial case is strengthening just as China accelerates. CATL said this week that it has officially launched TENER Sodium, describing it as the world’s first real-world validated sodium-ion battery energy storage system. The company says it expects cumulative shipments to reach 1GWh by the end of 2026, with overseas deliveries due to begin in June 2027.

The Chinese manufacturer has been positioning TENER Sodium as a field-tested product, building on its earlier TENER platform for stationary storage. In April 2024, CATL said its original TENER system was the first mass-producible storage product with zero degradation in its first five years, underscoring how rapidly energy storage suppliers are iterating on durability, density and safety.

For US developers, the appeal of sodium-ion remains clear. The chemistry relies on abundant salt-based inputs rather than lithium, which can reduce cost pressure and supply-chain exposure. It also avoids some of the fire-safety concerns that have dogged lithium-ion deployments, a material advantage in utility-scale and critical-infrastructure projects.

CleanTechnica reported that the collapse of Natron, a US sodium-ion specialist, last year was a sharp setback for the domestic sector. But other firms have continued to invest, betting that sodium-ion can compete in short- and medium-duration storage, where systems typically run for two to eight hours and lithium-ion has dominated.

ESS, one of the coalition members, said on 23 June that it sees “strong early customer engagement” for its planned US-made sodium-ion battery energy storage system. The company said interest has come from data centres, critical infrastructure and utility customers, and that demand has exceeded expectations despite limited marketing. ESS also said it will continue developing its flow battery platform for longer-duration applications, while placing greater emphasis on nearer-term market opportunities.

That split reflects the broader shape of the storage market. Long-duration storage, defined by the US Department of Energy as at least 10 hours, is still overwhelmingly served by pumped hydro, while battery systems are winning share in the shorter-duration segment. A recent report from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that hydropower operators can improve revenue and reduce costs by diverting excess generation into batteries rather than curtailing output, a sign that batteries are becoming part of a wider industrial optimisation strategy rather than a stand-alone substitute for conventional assets.

For now, sodium-ion remains an emerging technology rather than a settled standard. But with Chinese manufacturing moving quickly and US suppliers now organising politically as well as commercially, the sector is entering a more consequential phase.