As 2026 approaches, sodium-ion batteries will be fully deployed across four major application scenarios: battery swapping, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and energy storage — marking a grand overall shift in the new energy industry chain.

How impressive are the breakthroughs in technology? A few comparisons reveal all: costs are over 30% lower than lithium iron phosphate batteries, leaving several thousand yuan of room for vehicle price reductions; performance in -40℃ extreme cold environments surpasses that of lithium batteries, ending the ice age in northern markets; safety indicators are maximized, with no fire risk during needle penetration tests, and approval processes for large-scale energy storage projects are now a breeze; most importantly, domestic sodium resources are self-sufficient, completely freeing the industry from the 70% reliance on overseas lithium raw materials.

Industry restructuring is in full swing. On the automotive side, the era of "cheap batteries" for A00-level economy electric vehicles, ride-hailing cars, and heavy trucks has officially begun, bringing a turning point for previously suppressed profit margins; in the energy storage sector, large power stations and industrial and commercial emergency backup power are accelerating the adoption of new solutions, impacting both lead-acid and lithium batteries simultaneously; capital markets are highly perceptive, with signs of explosive growth in cathode materials, electrolytes, aluminum foil, and other supply chain segments, and some hidden champions have quietly signed strategic orders with leading manufacturers.

What about second-tier battery manufacturers that rely solely on a single technology route, betting only on ternary lithium, and facing high costs? Their cruel fate of being phased out may already be sealed. This is not just a technological evolution but a reshuffling of the entire industry chain's power map — some will ride the wind and dance, while others will inevitably fade into the background.