The world’s largest battery producer, CATL, has announced it is pushing ahead with plans to mass-produce within 2026 a sodium-ion battery capable of delivering a driving range of up to 600km. According to Wu Kai (pictured top), chief scientist at CATL, previous manufacturing bottlenecks have eased and mass production can now begin, with the sodium-ion batteries destined for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, battery-swapping networks, the national grid and stationary energy storage.