US Startup Ships Sodium-Ion Batteries, Breaks China Hold

A California startup is shipping a game-changing battery technology that could make energy storage cheaper and more accessible for millions of people worldwide.

Unigrid, based in San Diego, has begun delivering commercial shipments of its sodium-ion batteries to international customers. The company just became the first battery manufacturer outside China to export this technology at scale, breaking a monopoly that has held back the industry for years.

Unlike traditional lithium-ion batteries that depend on scarce and expensive minerals, sodium-ion batteries use salt, one of the most abundant materials on Earth. This makes them dramatically cheaper to produce and less vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that have plagued the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.

Unigrid cracked the code by using a smart "foundry" manufacturing model. Instead of spending billions to build its own factory, the company partners with existing facilities in Asia that have extra capacity. This lets them scale up production quickly without the massive financial risks that sink many battery startups.

The strategy is paying off fast. In October 2025, Unigrid expanded its manufacturing capacity tenfold to 100 megawatt hours per year. The company plans to hit 1 gigawatt hour by 2026, enough to power thousands of homes or support major renewable energy projects.

The timing couldn't be better. As solar and wind power grow rapidly worldwide, the biggest challenge isn't generating clean energy but storing it for when the sun doesn't shine and wind doesn't blow. Cheaper batteries mean more communities can afford to switch to renewable power.

The Ripple Effect

Unigrid's success sends ripples far beyond one company's bottom line. By proving sodium-ion batteries can compete commercially, they're opening doors for European and American manufacturers to challenge China's dominance in the battery market.

The foundry model also offers a blueprint for other clean energy startups struggling with the massive costs of building factories. By using existing infrastructure more efficiently, companies can bring innovations to market years faster than traditional approaches allow.

For countries trying to build domestic battery industries, this approach reduces dependence on foreign supply chains while creating high-skilled jobs in engineering and design. The batteries themselves could make electric vehicles and home energy storage affordable for middle-class families who've been priced out until now.

As more manufacturers adopt sodium-ion technology, the cost advantages will only grow, potentially democratizing access to clean energy storage across developing nations.

This is what happens when innovation meets practical business strategy, and the whole world benefits.

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