GM has partnered with Peak Energy to develop next-generation sodium-ion battery cells, but they’re not going into EVs – they’re for grid-scale energy storage projects. GM Ventures is making a strategic investment in Peak Energy.
Under the partnership, GM will develop the sodium-ion cells in its Michigan battery labs and retain exclusive manufacturing rights. Peak Energy will integrate the cells into its battery storage systems as it ramps up US manufacturing.
The companies are targeting a market that’s growing rapidly as utilities add battery storage to support renewable energy, rising electricity demand, and the buildout of data centers and AI infrastructure.
Today’s stationary storage market is dominated by lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. But Peak Energy believes sodium-ion batteries can deliver a lower-cost alternative for grid applications, where energy density is less important than cost, reliability, and safety.
A key part of Peak’s pitch is its passively cooled battery storage platform. Conventional LFP battery systems require active cooling equipment to maintain safe operating temperatures, adding cost and complexity. Peak says its system eliminates those cooling systems entirely.
According to the company, its sodium-ion platform can reduce energy storage costs by 20% compared with conventional systems while delivering more than 99% uptime.
Peak also argues that its design wastes less energy. It estimates that replacing conventional LFP storage systems with its passively cooled technology could reduce annual battery-storage energy waste in the US by up to 2 terawatt-hours. That’s enough electricity to power a mid-sized city for a year.
GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability, Kurt Kelty, said sodium-ion is a strong fit for stationary storage.
“At GM, we know that the application should determine the battery, and for grid-scale stationary storage, sodium-ion is the right solution,” Kelty said. “Peak is already demonstrating the value of sodium-ion through their innovative energy storage platform, and together we’re working to push those benefits even further with our next-generation cell – helping deliver more reliable, lower-cost energy storage at scale for the US grid.”
Sodium-ion batteries still account for a small share of the global battery market, but interest is growing because they can be made from more abundant, lower-cost materials than lithium-based batteries. GM and Peak are betting those advantages could make sodium-ion an increasingly attractive option for large-scale energy storage. But don’t expect GM to develop sodium-ion battery cells for EVs, because the energy density is too low.
Read more: GM–LG shifts a US plant from EV batteries to LFP energy storage
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