New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- China's biggest battery makers are racing ahead with sodium-ion batteries, a technology long seen as a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion cells. Companies such as CATL plan to commercialize sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) this year, marking the first meaningful push to bring the technology into the mainstream.

India, too, has been trying to develop sodium-ion batteries, with companies including Reliance Industries backing the technology. But despite years of investment and research, commercial progress has remained limited.

Mint explains what China's advances could mean for India's EV ambitions.

Sodium-ion batteries gained momentum in 2026 after Chinese com...