From CNBC · Michael Wayland · · 2m
GM bets on sodium to break China's battery grip
GM is chasing a battery chemistry China hasn't locked up, while Washington leans on Ford for doing the opposite.
In brief
GM is chasing a battery chemistry China hasn't locked up, while Washington leans on Ford for doing the opposite. GM's plan is not to copy China's battery supply chain but to jump to sodium-ion, a chemistry built on materials the U.S. already has. Originally reported by CNBC.
A domestic battery, on purpose
GM is in early development on next-generation cells it says will cut U.S. reliance on China, with a supply chain it wants fully domestic within two to three years.
“We're developing a supply chain such that, two years from now, three years from now, it will be domestic.”
Starts with storage, not cars
The first target is energy storage systems, the stationary batteries that back up homes, businesses and data centers. GM says EVs get the same domestic-first treatment.
The Ford contrast
Days after GM's comments, the Trump administration criticized Ford over its Chinese ties, including licensing battery tech from CATL for its EVs and storage plans.
Sodium from soda ash
GM partnered with Denver startup Peak Energy on sodium-ion cells, swapping lithium and ferrous sulfate for sodium, a material the U.S. has in abundance.
Chemistry is a recipe
Each ingredient and its dose changes performance, cost and stability. GM is working several chemistries at once for different storage and EV uses.
2029, and China until then
Commercial sodium-ion production with Peak is targeted for around 2029. Until then GM keeps building other chemistries using undisclosed amounts of Chinese material.
How deep the grip runs
China makes about 85% of the world's EV cathode active material and over 90% of anode material, giving it roughly 80% of global battery production.
Leapfrog, don't chase
Kelty says matching China's existing supply chains is a losing game. The bet is a different chemistry that is simply better and sourceable at home.
“The better thing to do is try to leapfrog, come up with a different technology that's actually better that we can actually source here.”
No cooling, lower cost
Sodium-ion tolerates a wider temperature range, so storage cells can run without active cooling. That strips out a big source of cost and complexity.
$900 million, still small
GM is spending $900 million on battery labs near Detroit, including a 500,000-square-foot prototyping plant opening this year. Experts say loosening China's grip takes far more.
“It's going to take some time to build this industry up, but the potential for sodium-ion is just much greater than LFP.”
The big picture
GM's plan is not to copy China's battery supply chain but to jump to sodium-ion, a chemistry built on materials the U.S. already has.
