Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has announced plans to invest 5 billion yuan to add 40 GWh of annual sodium-ion battery capacity at its Fuding Shidai subsidiary in Fujian province. The project, detailed in a recent filing with environmental authorities in Ningde, will be built over 24 months as an independent facility separate from CATL’s existing operations.
The new plant will include production lines for battery cells, electrodes, modules and capacity-testing, alongside supporting infrastructure. CATL intends to equip the site with leading-edge manufacturing technology to establish a large-scale sodium-ion power battery line. Once completed, the sixth phase of expansions at the Fuding Shidai base will bring its total planned output to 149 GWh.
This capacity boost follows a record 60 GWh energy storage order signed with HyperStrong on April 27. CATL said in a statement that this three-year supply agreement represents the largest sodium-ion battery order to date and signals the start of a new phase of large-scale industry growth.
Over the past few years, CATL has invested heavily in sodium-ion research and development, with cumulative spending approaching 10 billion yuan by the end of 2025. The company introduced its Naxtra sodium-ion brand in April 2025 to explore cost-effective alternatives to lithium-ion chemistry. Sodium-ion cells perform well in extreme cold and offer simplified system architectures and competitive costs for long-duration energy storage applications.
CATL founder and chairman Robin Zeng has said the company is actively developing sixth-generation sodium-ion products to suit diverse use cases. He projects that low-cost sodium-ion batteries could capture 30% to 40% of the existing battery market over the long term.
By scaling production in Fujian, CATL aims to solidify a leading global position in the emerging sodium-ion sector and meet growing demand from electric vehicles and energy storage markets.
Source: CNEVPost
