Zigong Signs Sodium Battery Deal for 10,000 Humanoid Robots
On September 22, the 5th Sodium-Ion Battery Industry Chain and Standards Development Forum convened in Zigong High-tech Zone, bringing together experts and scholars from China's sodium battery sector.
Xiao Bingdong, executive vice mayor and Standing Committee member of Zigong, Wang Xun, a third-level researcher at MIIT's Electronic Information Department, Li Yuhong, director of the Technical Standards Office at the CAAC Dangerous Goods Center, and Guo Nan, vice president of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, delivered remarks.
Li Jinghong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at Tsinghua University, gave a keynote report. Hu Yongsheng of the Institute of Physics, CAS; Cao Yuliang of Wuhan University; Yang Chenghao of South China University of Technology; and Zhao Ruirui, dean of EVE Energy's Central Research Institute, also presented reports.
The forum hosted two signing rounds for industrial supply-demand and scenario supply-demand. Agreements included a three-year strategic supply deal for 300,000 tons of sodium battery cathode material worth RMB 6 billion; procurement of 10,000 tons per year of hard carbon anode material; procurement of raw materials for 50,000 tons per year of hard carbon anode material; supply of 200 MWh of sodium-ion cells; and a strategic cooperation agreement on sodium battery energy storage and liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging.
The most closely watched was an intent cooperation agreement for sodium replacement green covering 10,000 humanoid robots, 1,000 intelligent simulation dinosaurs, 100 intelligent unmanned vehicles, and 10 energy storage stations. It extends sodium-ion battery applications from energy storage and electric vehicles to new categories such as humanoid robots and intelligent simulation dinosaurs.
The intent agreement marks a shift: sodium batteries are no longer only for stationary storage and entry-level EVs, but also for embodied AI hardware and cultural tourism equipment.
Compared with lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries have lower energy density but lower cost, better low-temperature performance, and higher safety. These traits suit devices that are less demanding on energy density but sensitive to cost and safety. Humanoid robot battery packs have relatively ample space, so their energy-density requirements are less extreme than those of electric vehicles, while cost control is critical for consumer and commercial robots. For robots that operate indoors or in controlled environments, battery weight and volume constraints are less severe than in long-range electric cars.
Intelligent simulation dinosaurs and similar cultural-tourism devices do not require long endurance but demand high safety. Sodium batteries have a high pass rate in nail penetration tests, making them suitable for such applications. Zigong itself is a hub for dinosaur culture and the simulation dinosaur industry, so combining sodium batteries with simulation dinosaurs links local industry with new energy. The local government is promoting sodium batteries as part of its new energy cluster and as a way to support Zigong's existing simulation dinosaur manufacturers.
Zigong High-tech Zone features a full sodium battery industrial chain and has been included in the province's key layout for the power battery and energy storage battery industries. Planned and under-construction capacity includes 100,000 tons of sodium battery cathode material, 100,000 tons of hard carbon anode material, 10 GWh of sodium-ion cells and PACK, 800,000 power battery pack boxes, 800,000 thermal management systems, and 5 million precision structural parts. Zigong's approach emphasizes complementary development of lithium and sodium batteries rather than replacing lithium entirely.
Zigong adheres to a lithium-sodium complementary, dual-line development strategy, with the high-tech zone as the main carrier, and maintains 2,000 mu of industrial land in reserve. At the release ceremony for key sodium-ion battery test results, 13 companies including Shenzhen Jiana Energy had 16 product models pass nail penetration testing.
The forum and signings advance Zigong's sodium battery industry from materials toward applications. If the intent agreement for 10,000 humanoid robots using sodium batteries materializes, it will correspond not only to battery orders but also to standard-setting and supply chain positioning for sodium batteries in the new embodied intelligence category. The 10,000-unit humanoid robot project, if implemented, would give sodium batteries a beachhead in a fast-growing market, where reliability, cost, and safety matter as much as energy density.