World's largest battery manufacturer achieves revolutionary breakthrough with new technology: 'A key development'

"It is more efficient, eco-friendly, and economical."

The world's largest electric vehicle battery maker has hit a remarkable benchmark. 

China-based Contemporary Amperex Technologies, or CATL, is mass-producing sodium-ion batteries, bringing to fruition a technology that has the potential to replace common lithium-ion chemistry, according to a news release from the company. 

"With sodium's inherent safety and abundant reserves, it efficiently reduces dependence on lithium resources and strengthens the foundation of new energy technologies, while promoting energy utilization from 'single resource dependence' to 'energy freedom,'" CATL said in the statement. 

Experts worldwide are studying sodium-based batteries for those reasons and others. A lower energy density — or the amount of power the pack can store per pound — compared to lithium has been a holdup, Clean Technica reported. 

CATL's Naxtra Battery, made for passenger EVs with a version for heavy-duty start-stop use, seems to solve the problem. The passenger pack can provide over 310 miles of range. That's superior to the median for model-year 2024 EVs, which was reported at 283 miles by the U.S. Energy Department. Those rides are mostly all powered by lithium-ion cells.

The packs can also safely operate between minus 40 degrees and 178 degrees Fahrenheit while maintaining 90% of "usable power" at the coldest mark. It can function for more than 10,000 cycles, all per CATL. New Atlas added that it equates to 3.6 million miles driving before significant capacity loss.

On the heavy-duty side, Naxtra's 24-volt product is meant to replace lead-acid packs in dirty combustion vehicles, with an eight-year life cycle. There's also a 61% reduction in costs during that time compared to traditional types.