A commercial sodium-ion battery already used in China is moving into Tesla-like territory, putting fresh pressure on lithium-ion’s cost advantage.
Researchers testing Hina’s cells found consistent output across a large sample, high power capability, and a design that echoes key choices in Tesla batteries. The low-cost sodium battery still has work ahead, especially around charging in freezing conditions, but it points to a cheaper path for EVs, grid storage, and commercial vehicles that don’t need maximum driving range.
For automakers, the supply-chain angle could be as valuable as the performance result. Sodium is widely available and cheaper to source than lithium, which could help battery makers avoid some of the price swings and supply constraints that have dogged lithium-ion production.
How close is it to Tesla performance
The Hina cell stood out because researchers didn’t test one impressive sample and stop there. They measured 120 cells using impedance spectroscopy and found strong uniformity across the batch.
That consistency is the useful signal for real-world production. A cell with strong peak performance has less value if factories can’t build it repeatably, especially in vehicles or grid systems where large packs depend on predictable behavior.
The team also tested the cells at different currents and temperatures from minus 20 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius, then used X-rays and a teardown to study the internal structure. The result was a commercial sodium cell with unusually serious power behavior for an early product in this category.
Why does sodium change the cost math
The teardown points to another cost lever inside the cell. Its cathode mix includes sodium, copper, nickel, iron, and manganese, with copper used in a way that could reduce dependence on pricier metals such as nickel and cobalt.
The cell also uses a tabless double-aluminum architecture. Sodium does not react with aluminum the same way lithium does, which lets manufacturers use aluminum foil on both sides of the cell instead of relying on copper for the anode current collector.
That structural choice could lower more than materials costs by simplifying the current-collector setup around cheaper aluminum. If sodium-ion cells keep improving without leaning too heavily on expensive metals, they could become a serious pressure point for lithium-ion batteries in cost-sensitive markets.
What has to improve next
The biggest weakness is still cold-weather charging. The researchers found that low-temperature charging remains a problem, which means these cells would need careful thermal management before they can handle frequent charging below 0 degrees Celsius.
Energy density is the other catch. Today’s sodium-ion cells generally can’t match the best lithium-ion batteries for long-range EVs, so Tesla’s core advantage remains intact in vehicles built around maximum driving range.
But the opening is real. If Hina and other battery makers improve cold charging, refine hard-carbon anodes, and push electrolyte chemistry forward, sodium-ion batteries could carve out a large role in grid storage, shorter-range EVs, and commercial vehicles, where lithium’s advantages may not be worth the premium.