New materials drive sodium battery adoption in China’s energy storage sector. Image enhanced by CNC Understand China EV’s Market Real-time notifications when critical EV data is released All important data in one place 2,000,000+ data points Become a member China’s sodium-ion battery industry continues to show a clear structural shift in cathode material selection, with polyanion-based systems increasing their share of production in 2026, according to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM). Polyanion NFPP materials accounted for the majority of cathode output in late 2025 and early 2026, reaching above 70% in multiple reporting periods, while layered oxides continued to lose share under production adjustments and demand restructuring. Recent production trends indicate that NFPP-type materials remain the main driver of output growth as energy storage demand stabilises, while layered oxide systems show weaker momentum due to slower deployment in large-scale storage projects and tighter system requirements. Energy storage demand drives material selection Energy storage remains the dominant application for sodium-ion batteries in China. This demand structure has directly influenced cathode selection, with manufacturers prioritising cycle life, cost stability, and safety performance. Polyanion materials offer stronger structural stability and longer cycle life under repeated charge-discharge conditions, making them more suitable for grid storage applications. Layered oxides, by contrast, are more prone to structural degradation during cycling, limiting their competitiveness in stationary storage environments. Safety validation moves into extreme-condition testing Recent developments in China have placed increasing emphasis on safety validation as sodium-ion batteries move closer to deployment. A reported laboratory test showed sodium-ion cells surviving exposure to temperatures up to 300°C without thermal runaway, highlighting improved thermal stability under extreme conditions. In parallel, system-level designs incorporating non-flammable electrolyte strategies are being explored to further enhance safety margins in failure scenarios, particularly for large-scale storage applications. BYD battery installations in China. Credit: China EV DataTracker Layered oxide route faces structural pressure Layered oxide cathodes remain in production but face structural pressure in scaling due to cost and stability constraints. These materials typically require higher-cost transition metals and more complex process control, limiting their competitiveness in large-scale storage deployment. As a result, layered oxide output has increasingly concentrated on niche applications such as higher-energy-density use cases and early-stage mobility demonstrations. Industrialisation phase reshapes competition Sodium-ion battery development in China is moving from technical validation toward industrial scaling. This shift has changed competition from theoretical performance metrics toward cost per cycle and application compatibility. Recent commercial trials involving sodium-ion systems in heavy-duty transport also indicate that the technology is being evaluated under real operating conditions rather than laboratory benchmarks. Truck testing has shown improvements in operating efficiency and driving range under specific fleet conditions. Cathode material competition is therefore becoming increasingly segmented rather than centred on a single dominant chemistry. Multi-route structure expected to persist Sodium-ion battery cathode development will maintain a multi-route structure: Polyanion systems (NFPP): dominant in energy storage Layered oxides: focused on higher-energy-density applications Prussian blue analogues: niche or emerging fast-charge scenarios Rather than full replacement, the industry is expected to develop through application-based segmentation. Recent safety breakthroughs and mobility testing suggest that sodium-ion batteries are gradually moving from laboratory validation into early-stage deployment across selected applications. Outlook Continued expansion of sodium-ion battery production capacity in China through 2026 is expected to be supported by energy storage deployment and ongoing cost reduction in material systems. At the same time, real-world validation is accelerating, with commercial vehicle testing and safety breakthroughs indicating a gradual transition toward early deployment scenarios. However, cathode chemistry selection remains strongly driven by application requirements rather than a single dominant material system, with sodium-ion and lithium-ion technologies expected to coexist across different use cases.