Hydrogen was supposed to be the next big thing in the vehicle manufacturing industry, but the complexity of components to make this element viable for daily use has pushed back many projects. Meanwhile, other companies are testing hydrogen to power competition cars, like in the Dakar Rally, or a new division, like the Chinese manufacturer Geely, will make in the following years. Yet, it could be replaced soon with the new sodium battery on the market from a Chinese company.
Sodium battery use in real life: How does it work?
Sodium-ion batteries are starting to show up as a cheaper and more accessible alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The principle is almost the same: instead of lithium, the charge moves through sodium ions. They are built with the same basic components – a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte – with the sodium moving back and forth between both ends when the battery is charging or discharging.
Now, they are about to take hydrogen’s place in the future with the new battery that could make vehicle manufacturers opt for this instead of a regular electric car, a hybrid, or a hydrogen-powered vehicle. The company, under the JAC Motors brand, in partnership with Volkswagen, made a bet on sodium batteries, and it could be a viable substitute in the future.
Sodium batteries ahead of hydrogen: China has chosen another fuel source
JAC made headlines as the first carmaker to install a sodium-ion battery in an electric vehicle. The model chosen was the Sehol E10X hatchback, fitted with a 25 kWh pack. At that stage, the battery offered an energy density of about 120 Wh/kg (145 Wh/kg at the cell level) and could fast-charge from 10% to 80% in just 20 minutes. On the road, that translated into a modest 252 km of range.
Other suppliers have been pushing the technology further. Farasis Energy, for example, is already producing sodium-ion batteries with densities between 140 and 160 Wh/kg. These packs passed the usual safety tests – puncture, overcharge, and extrusion – and when installed in the JMEV EV3, they delivered a 251 km range. For comparison, the lithium version of the same car manages about 301 km.
The benefits of sodium: It’s cheaper and “greener”
The appeal of sodium is clear: cheaper raw materials and a smaller environmental footprint compared to lithium. The challenge is performance, which still lags behind the dominant lithium-ion option. Even so, carmakers are betting on it. Two compact EVs are leading the charge. One is from Yiwei, a brand born in 2023 as the successor to Sehol – the old joint venture between JAC and Volkswagen Anhui.
Its sodium batteries are sourced from Hina Battery. The other is the JMEV EV3, from Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle, a company majority-owned by Renault, which uses cells supplied by Farasis Energy. Yiwei itself is part of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC), whose parent company has been 50% state-owned and 50% owned by Volkswagen Group since 2020. That structure shows how deeply traditional automakers and governments are tied into testing sodium as the “next big thing”.
Sodium-ion vs lithium: The standard remains the favorite
Sodium-ion batteries have one big advantage: sodium is cheap and everywhere. However, that doesn’t automatically make the tech cheaper than lithium. This is the component used in most batteries in the present days, from cars to cellphones. Other companies like Honda, Lamborghini, and Mercedes are going after hydrogen, but they are not focusing all their efforts on just one front – some companies are even teaming up to find new ways to explore the next generation of car technology.
Meanwhile, China continues to hold the blueprint for every electric car in the world, but it doesn’t hold the formula hostage. Rather, they share with other automakers that are looking for a way to power their electric vehicles beyond hydrogen.
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