China sets 2030 battery targets, backs sodium-ion and solid-state

From ESS News

China has issued a national five-year plan for the new-type battery industry, setting 2030 targets for solid-state batteries, long-life lithium-ion products and manufacturing quality, while calling for broader deployment of sodium-ion and other storage technologies.

The New-Type Battery Industry Development Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan Period was jointly issued by seven government bodies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration. The document is dated Sept. 14 and was publicly released on Sept. 28.

By 2030, China aims for steady growth in the new-type battery industry and major progress in next-generation chemistries. The plan calls for preliminary large-scale application of all-solid-state batteries, cycle life of 15,000 cycles for long-life lithium batteries, and product defect rates at leading manufacturers reaching the parts-per-billion level. It also seeks advances in electrode materials, new electrolytes and high-end auxiliary materials. Unlike some earlier industrial development policies, the plan does not set a specific capacity or output-value target.

Energy storage is a major application area. The government wants battery deployment to expand on the generation and grid sides, as well as in industrial parks and data centers, while supporting the development of China’s new power system. MIIT’s accompanying interpretation also calls for new storage scenarios and tighter coordination between supply expansion and actual demand.

For battery chemistry, the plan retains lithium-ion as the core technology while explicitly calling for a supply system in which sodium-ion and flow batteries develop alongside lithium batteries. It also calls for research into new alkali-metal-ion batteries, multivalent-ion systems, metal-air and metal-sulfur batteries, and nuclear batteries. Standards development for sodium-ion batteries is listed alongside work on solid-state and other emerging technologies.

The sodium-ion provisions are notable for stationary storage, where energy density is generally less critical than cost, cycle life, safety and supply-chain diversity. The plan does not set a sodium-ion deployment target, however, and does not indicate that sodium-ion technology should replace lithium iron phosphate. Instead, it places sodium-ion within a broader multi-chemistry storage portfolio.

The document also places greater emphasis on industry governance than simple capacity expansion. MIIT said authorities will strengthen capacity early-warning mechanisms, product-quality supervision and regulation of price competition to avoid sharp swings in supply and demand. The plan also supports mergers and consolidation, recycling, safety management and more orderly overseas investment.

Overall, the plan signals a shift from capacity-led expansion toward technology, quality and supply-demand discipline. For energy storage, its significance lies in providing policy support to longer-life lithium batteries, sodium-ion and flow batteries, while broadening applications from conventional grid storage to industrial parks, data centers and other emerging loads.