# 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.
- Title: GM bets on sodium to break China's battery grip · CNBC
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: batteries, china, sodium-ion, ev supply chain, business, finance, bets, sodium, break, China's, battery, grip
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/12/gm-us-battery-development-ford-china-ties.html
- Author: Michael Wayland
- Published: 2026-09-12T12:00:01+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: batteries, gm, china, sodium-ion, ev supply chain, business, finance
## 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.
## Key takeaway

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.