US Startup Ships Sodium-Ion Batteries at Commercial Scale

Salt-based batteries are finally giving lithium a run for its money, and an American startup is leading the charge outside China.

Unigrid, a San Diego company born from university research in 2021, just achieved something remarkable. The startup is now shipping sodium-ion batteries at commercial scale, making it the first company outside China to export these safer, more sustainable power sources globally.

The technology replaces expensive lithium with something found in every kitchen: salt. Sodium-ion batteries avoid the fire risks and supply chain headaches that come with lithium batteries, making them ideal for storing solar power at homes and businesses.

California believed in the idea early. The state gave Unigrid $150,000 in 2020 to get started, then invested almost $3 million more last June to build a production line capable of making up to 750 batteries daily.

What makes this especially exciting is that Unigrid is using solid-state technology, swapping flammable liquid components for safer ceramic materials. Scientists have struggled with this challenge for years, even with lithium batteries. Pulling it off with sodium is even harder because the batteries tend to be heavier.

The company cracked a major code by skipping the traditional factory model. Instead of spending billions on a massive plant, Unigrid partners with existing manufacturers and ships batteries directly to customers in shipping containers. This "fab-less" approach let them jump from pilot scale to global exports in less than a year.

They earned crucial UN safety certification in 2025, opening doors to international shipping. Now they're fulfilling orders for home energy storage systems, utility projects, and even industrial vehicle batteries.

The Ripple Effect spreads beyond just one company's success. Unigrid's breakthrough proves American innovators can compete in the battery race without matching China's massive factory investments. Their partnership model offers a faster path for other clean energy startups to reach customers.

For homeowners, this means safer backup power that won't strain global supply chains or raise ethical concerns about mining practices. The batteries work as drop-in replacements for existing systems, making the switch easy.

While sodium-ion batteries aren't ready for electric cars yet (they're currently limited to 12-volt starter batteries for vehicles), the company has transportation applications in its long-term plans. For now, keeping homes and businesses powered during outages is the main mission.

CEO Darren Tan put it simply: his team proved that advanced battery technology can reach the world without massive capital investments. That matters because climate solutions need to scale fast, and waiting years for billion-dollar factories slows progress.

The timing couldn't be better, as extreme weather and grid instability make home energy storage increasingly essential across America.