- General Motors said it’s developing sodium ion batteries for grid-scale energy storage systems.
- Chinese battery makers have already commercialized the technology. Now multiple U.S. companies are betting on it, too.
- Sodium-ion batteries have plenty of advantages over current lithium-based chemistries.
General Motors is teaming up with U.S. startup Peak Energy to deploy sodium-ion batteries for energy storage systems, the automaker announced on Tuesday. As electric vehicle sales remain uneven, U.S. automakers are redirecting their battery ambitions toward the booming energy storage market, where demand is surging on the back of power-hungry AI data centers.
GM Ventures, the automaker’s investment arm, will back the partnership, which is focused on developing purpose-built sodium-ion cells. GM said it will conduct material and component development this year, followed by prototyping at its battery lab in Michigan. A timeline for high-volume production is yet to be announced.
“We believe sodium-ion will be a defining chemistry for grid-scale energy storage systems in the years ahead,” Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery and sustainability at General Motors, said in a statement.
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Source: General Motors
So what makes sodium-ion worth the bet? At a basic level, these batteries store and release energy the same way lithium-ion batteries do. But sodium has some meaningful advantages as a raw material. Sodium is 1,000 times more abundant than lithium and carries a far lower environmental footprint. GM also says sodium-ion cells operate across a broader temperature range and have a longer cycle life, making them more resilient in extreme heat or cold.
There’s a system-level benefit, too. Sodium-ion batteries don’t necessarily require active cooling, which strips out a significant layer of complexity and cost. Peak Energy says it has already deployed what it calls the world’s first passively cooled grid-scale sodium-ion battery at a site in Colorado. The startup is also running multiple pilot projects across the U.S., partnering with renewable energy firms and energy storage companies to accelerate the deployment of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S.
“In grid-scale stationary storage systems, if we can make the cell safer and more robust, we can remove complexity elsewhere in the system,” Kelty said. “That can translate into a quieter, simpler, lower-maintenance ESS for the customer.”
GM is betting on multiple battery chemistries and cell formats, with sodium-ion now joining its prismatic lithium manganese rich (LMR) cells and lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Photo by: General Motors
GM’s entry into sodium-ion lends credibility to what has largely been considered an emerging, unproven technology, especially given that lithium iron phosphate (LFP) currently dominates the global energy storage market. LFP production is concentrated in China, but it has established supply chains and a strong track record in terms of cost over older technologies like nickel manganese cobalt (NMC).
GM argues that LFP improvements are beginning to plateau, while sodium-ion is still early in its development curve, meaning more performance gains are ahead. It’s worth noting, though, that Chinese battery companies have a significant head start. Battery giant CATL last year revealed sodium-ion batteries for EVs that can work in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit with minimal range loss, while retaining fast-charging speeds similar to what’s observed at normal temperatures.
GM’s sodium-ion batteries are still a few years from entering full-scale production. In the meantime, its Ultium Cells joint venture with Korea’s LG Energy Solution will begin producing LFP batteries to support near-term demand for grid-scale packs.
GM is also working with recycling firm Redwood Materials to redeploy 10,000 used EV batteries to power data centers in Nevada. And it plans to install 100 second-life EV battery packs at one of its Michigan plants, providing 7.2 megawatts of deployable energy and more than $3 million in electricity cost savings over the life of the installation.
Its latest bet on sodium-ion, however, is an indication that when it comes to batteries, there won’t be a single chemistry that beats out the rest. Different applications demand different types of batteries. And having that flexibility might be the smarter long-term play.
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