Sodium-ion batteries: are they worth it?

Every household wants the most cost-effective solar & battery system possible, with tech that'll cut your energy bills and stand the test of time.

It's therefore worth keeping an eye on new, cutting-edge products – like sodium-ion batteries. The first mass-produced EV with one of these batteries was unveiled in February 2026, and UK homes can now get a sodium-ion home battery.

94% of new solar panel installations in the UK include a battery, according to data from Flexi-Orb and EPVS, so the question of whether to get a sodium-ion battery is a pressing one.

They're larger and heavier than lithium-ion batteries, and don't have their decade-long track record of providing savings – but this may change. In this guide, we'll explain how they work, what their pros and cons are, and whether they'll be worth getting any time soon.

At Sunsave, we install lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, as they're the proven choice for cutting energy bills. If you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system or just a home battery, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

What is a sodium-ion battery?

A sodium-ion battery is a rechargeable battery that uses sodium ions to carry electrical charge, which makes charging and discharging possible.

They store cheap or solar electricity for later use, and generally work in a very similar way to lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly found in UK homes – but they rely on a much more abundant element.

Sodium is one of the major building blocks of salt, which is found in seawater and on kitchen tables all over the world, and has been extracted and used by humans for around 8,000 years.

In contrast, lithium is mined in a small number of countries, with Australia, Chile, China, and Zimbabwe responsible for 82% of global production.

Overall, there's around 1,000 times more sodium than lithium in the Earth's crust, and roughly 60,000 times more in our oceans.

Since sodium is so abundant, researchers explored the idea of using it in batteries in the 1970s and 80s, while also looking into lithium. At the time, lithium performed better, so it ended up in everything from laptops and phones to home batteries and electric cars.

Technological breakthroughs in the 2000s led to a new wave of research into sodium-ion batteries, partly fuelled by concerns over lithium's limited availability.

This eventually resulted in the first sodium-ion battery storage system, in 2019 – nearly 30 years after lithium-ion batteries hit the market. A few years later in 2023, the first sodium-ion EV battery was debuted in China.

The UK played its part in this process, with Sheffield-based firm Faradion at the forefront of sodium-ion cell development.

These have been used in storage batteries and low-speed electric vehicles, eventually leading to the firm being bought by India's Reliance New Energy Solar for £100 million.

How do sodium-ion batteries work?

Just like lithium-ion models, sodium-ion batteries move electrons from the positive cathode to the negative anode, using an electrolyte to help them get across. This charges the battery, while reversing the process discharges it.

The major differences are that sodium-ion batteries use sodium compounds in the electrolyte instead of lithium, and their anodes are made of hard carbon rather than graphite, since it holds on to sodium ions much more effectively.

However, as sodium ions are larger and heavier than lithium ions, these anodes still don't store as much electricity as their counterparts in lithium-ion batteries – which is why the biggest downside of sodium-ion batteries is their lower energy density (more on this below).

There are four main types of cathodes in sodium-ion batteries – layered oxides, polyanionic compounds, Prussian blue analogues, and organic materials – in the same way that lithium-ion cathodes come in a few different forms.

Can you buy a sodium-ion home battery in the UK?

There are now a couple of sodium-ion home batteries available to UK customers.

Cambridge-based firm Eleven Energy started shipping its Galvani battery to customers in April 2026.

These 4.5 kilowatt-hour (kWh) modules come with a 10-year product warranty, an 8,000-cycle guarantee, and a 92% grid-connected depth of discharge – all of which makes them relatively average compared to lithium-ion batteries.

They also operate at temperatures between -20°C to 55°C, which is better than some lithium-ion products, and you can stack up to 16 of the modules – though very few households would need to.

The battery costs around £1,400 from wholesale suppliers, while prices that include installation start from £2,025.

This means you'll pay at least £450 per kWh – roughly the same amount you'd spend on lithium-ion batteries, which usually cost about £400-£600 per kWh. For more information, check out our guide to home battery costs.

Beyond Batteries, which is based in Brighton, has listed its 5kWh Sodi-Home at £1,495, but has said the model is "currently undergoing extensive field testing", adding that "we are working to bring this product to market as soon as possible."

The battery is guaranteed to provide 4,500 cycles at a depth of discharge of 70%, which is a lot worse in both regards than the vast majority of lithium-ion batteries.

Beyond Batteries also sells 12-volt sodium-ion leisure batteries, which you could use for trips in a campervan or on a boat, or as emergency backup power for a single item – but not to power a whole home.

This list of products may not expand massively in the near future, either.

The world's largest producer of EV batteries, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), has been making sodium-ion batteries since 2021, but is focused on using them for grid-scale storage rather than home batteries.

Information correct as of October 2026.

Sodium-ion vs lithium-ion batteries

Comparing these two technologies is not simple, since the terms sodium-ion and lithium-ion both cover a variety of chemical combinations.

However, by far the most common lithium-ion model is LFP, which accounts for around 90% of all battery installations – up from well under 50% just five years ago.

In this article, we're usually referring to LFP batteries when we discuss lithium-ion models – but in the table below, we've used figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Journal of Energy Storage that cover all lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are superior in multiple areas, including energy density, cycle life, and sheer variety.

If you need a battery that can persevere through extremely high and low temperatures, sodium-ion products have the edge, while they're roughly comparable in terms of efficiency.

With the two types of batteries' cells costing roughly the same amount, lithium-ion batteries are clearly better at the moment – though this could change. We’ll unpack all of this below.

What are the benefits of sodium-ion batteries?

There are a few upsides to sodium-ion batteries, which makes sense when some of the world's largest battery manufacturers are pumping money into their development.

Here are all their key advantages.

1. Abundant raw materials

Sodium is much more abundant than lithium, and it's easier to find and process – meaning it's also cheaper.

And while lithium-ion batteries require copper for their anodes, sodium-ion batteries can use aluminium, which is – again – less expensive and more abundant.

Some sodium-ion batteries also don't use nickel or cobalt, which reduces the production cost and difficulties further.

This is why big battery companies have been trying to develop sodium-ion models and their manufacturing processes since the 2000s: to have a cheaper alternative if the price of making lithium-ion batteries rises by too much.

However, the cheap and abundant nature of sodium-ion batteries' raw materials hasn't yet translated into lower prices for the finished product (more on this below).

2. Better performance in the cold

This is the major technical advantage of sodium-ion batteries.

Some models can keep functioning when their temperature drops to -40°C, and also when they heat up to 80°C. This is well beyond the range of even the best batteries, which often work between -20°C and 55°C.

However, this is unlikely to affect UK households. The average winter temperature in the UK between 1991 and 2020 was 4°C, which is a far cry from cities in northern China that spend all of winter in average temperatures below -20°C.

Most modern lithium-ion batteries can keep working at -10°C, which is usually sufficient, and they're unlikely to get anywhere close to 55°C as long as they're installed in a garage or on an outside wall, in line with current regulations.

Some lithium-ion batteries do stop charging below 0°C, so it's best to check the operating temperature before you buy – but a good installer will do this for you.

Sodium-ion batteries can also struggle to charge effectively in extremely cold temperatures, despite their ability to retain discharging capacity when the thermostat drops.

In 2026, researchers at Germany's RWTH Aachen University tested 120 commercial sodium-ion cells made by Hina, and found that at -20°C, they could discharge 82% of their electricity – but their charging limit dropped as low as 56%.

The researchers said that "low-temperature charging remains a clear weakness" – so sodium-ion batteries may not be the answer yet, even if you do experience extreme winters.

3. Safety

Sodium-ion batteries have performed well on safety tests. As mentioned above, their operating temperature ranges are broad, and they also come with a more stable combination of anodes and electrolytes than lithium-ion models.

This makes them more resilient, less likely to start fires, and safer to transport while fully discharged.

However, the data on sodium-ion batteries is limited, and the crystal structure of LFP batteries already makes them the safest type of lithium-ion battery, as they're highly resistant to thermal runaway – which is one of the main causes of battery fires.

Sodium-ion and lithium-ion models are both safe for domestic use, especially as any home battery installed by an accredited professional must follow the same PAS 63100 fire safety regulations.

4. A more sustainable supply chain

Sodium-ion batteries don't contain lithium – and depending on their chemical makeup, they don't always require cobalt or nickel either.

This avoids some of the issues associated with mining these elements, such as local pollution, contaminated water, and an overreliance on countries with a history of instability.

These problems are especially present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has been the largest cobalt producer since 2003, and is currently responsible for around 73% of the world's supply.

Ideally, battery manufacturers would rely less on individual countries – but unfortunately, many sodium-ion batteries still require manganese and nickel.

South Africa and Gabon dominate manganese production, while Indonesia has a stranglehold on nickel production.

And currently, China is responsible for more than 95% of built and planned sodium-ion battery capacity by 2030.

So while sodium-ion batteries could theoretically end up with a significantly more diversified supply chain, it's not likely to happen soon.

What are the downsides of sodium-ion batteries?

Despite their potential benefits, sodium-ion batteries come with some significant downsides – especially if you want to buy a home battery in the near future.

Here are the most pressing issues.

1. They’re bigger and heavier

Sodium-ion batteries are substantially larger and heavier than lithium-ion models that store the same amount of electricity.

This attribute is called energy density, and is measured in watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) – that is, how much energy a battery can hold, divided by its weight.

Sodium-ion cells can currently retain 90-160Wh/kg, which is some way behind lithium-ion cells' 150-300Wh/kg rating.

For example, Eleven Energy’s Galvani battery weighs 59kg per 4.5kWh module. If you get two modules to reach the 9-10kWh we'd recommend for a typical UK home, that'd be 118kg.

You'd need another module to match the 13.5kWh of capacity which the Tesla Powerwall 3 provides, which would give you a total of 177kg.

That's not even counting the Galvani's 6kg base and 11.5kg junction box – and you'd require Eleven Energy's Mediterranean Sea inverter, which weighs 36kg. That's 230.5kg overall.

Compare that with the Powerwall 3, which comes with an integrated inverter and still weighs a relatively light 130kg.

As you can see below, lithium-ion batteries have a better energy density than other types – and this has real-world effects. You either need enough space in your garage to fit a battery, or an outside wall that can hold it – and with sodium-ion models, this is more difficult.

2. They aren’t cheaper (yet)

Despite being made with cheaper, more widely found materials, sodium-ion batteries don't yet come with the lower prices you'd expect.

Both sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries cost around €93 (£78) per kWh, according to a 2026 cross-European study.

Though this is a rough estimate, it does back up our earlier finding that the two battery types cost around the same amount per kWh.

This is largely down to lithium prices plummeting since their 2022 peak (despite a recent rise), which means manufacturers haven't had any pressing financial reason to turn to sodium-ion batteries.

As a result, they're still much less popular. Sodium-ion batteries are used in some EVs – and as storage in especially cold areas – but globally in 2025, sodium-ion production was less than 1% of lithium-ion.

For manufacturers to change their practices, either lithium prices need to rise in a significant, sustained fashion, or technological advances need to improve the energy density of sodium-ion batteries.

3. There’s very little choice in the UK

As we explained above, you can only buy a couple of different sodium-ion batteries in the UK, compared to the 69 lithium-ion models we assessed for our best batteries article.

And those that are on the market often have limited compatibility with other home energy tech. Eleven Energy's Galvani battery, for instance, is designed to be paired with one of the company's "sodium-compatible" inverters.

Because of this, you may not be able to simply slot a sodium-ion battery into an existing solar setup. Instead, you'll be reliant on one company and its batch of products.

4. They have a much shorter track record

Lithium-ion batteries have been cutting homeowners' energy bills for more than a decade now, since around the time the first Tesla Powerwall was installed in the UK, in 2016.

We therefore have plenty of data about how they deal with residential use on these shores, and how they degrade over time. The long-term resilience and performance of sodium-ion batteries, however, is still a mystery.

Batteries should be a long-term investment, with a lifespan of at least 10 years that justifies paying thousands of pounds for them.

You want to be confident that both the product and its manufacturer will last the distance – and in an environment where even established companies like GivEnergy can go into administration, buying from small, young firms is a risk.

Sodium-ion batteries are worth keeping an eye on, but if you want to cut your energy bills now, lithium-ion batteries are the proven choice.

If you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system or just a home battery, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Will sodium-ion batteries replace lithium-ion?

Sodium-ion batteries are unlikely to replace lithium-ion batteries, at least any time soon.

Even CATL, one of the companies at the forefront of sodium-ion developments, thinks they'll coexist. In 2026, director William Wu said: "We believe that sodium and lithium together will form the twin foundations of the future energy storage system."

And though manufacturers have already started using sodium-ion batteries in EVs, this also isn't likely to become the dominant method in the near future. IRENA only expects them to make up 10% of EV battery demand by 2030.

They're also too large, heavy, and expensive to make it worth choosing them over lithium-ion batteries – plus they have practically no track record to speak of in the UK.

Instead, sodium-ion batteries will likely shine when it comes to utility-scale storage, where size and weight tends to matter less, and the ability to work well in extremely cold temperatures can be particularly useful.

This could all change, though. If lithium prices climb and stay high, or if developers make technological breakthroughs when it comes to energy density, sodium-ion batteries could become a genuine option for households at some point.

Are sodium-ion batteries worth it?

Sodium-ion batteries are a promising technology, but lithium-ion batteries are the best choice for UK households right now – and for the foreseeable future.

Lithium-ion batteries are lighter, smaller, no more expensive than sodium-ion models, and they have a long track record of saving homes money on their energy bills. You'll also have more choice of batteries and inverters.

Sodium-ion batteries work better in extremely cold conditions, but that's not especially relevant in the UK.

And there's no need to wait for them, either: if you get a lithium-ion battery now, you can start saving money straight away, particularly when you pair them with solar panels and a time-of-use tariff.

You'll also pay 0% VAT, as long as you get a battery before 31 March 2027.

At Sunsave, we install LFP batteries, as they're the proven choice for cutting energy bills. If you’re wondering how much you could save with a solar & battery system or just a home battery, enter a few details below and we’ll provide an estimate.

Sodium-ion batteries: FAQs