Peak Energy announced a $55 million Series A fundraise in July to launch a new domestic sodium-ion battery storage pilot program.
Peak is focused on reducing the high cost of sodium-ion production to help it compete with its more prevalent counterpart, lithium-ion. Bonus? Sodium-ion doesn’t rely on Chinese mass production like lithium-ion.
- The US doesn’t crack the top eight lithium producers in the world, leaving it reliant on pricey outside producers.
- But sodium carbonate is cheap and plentiful in the US.
The utility POV: Peak is zeroing in on US utilities and independent power producers as its first customers in the sodium-ion battery pilot program. The goal? To help those entities improve battery storage as a solution to increasing grid demand. Breaking it down further →
- Manufacturing sodium-ion batteries is “theoretically cheaper” than lithium-ion—about $50 per kWh, compared to $70 per kWh—but the sodium-ion batteries aren’t commercially deployed at scale.
- Sodium-ion battery systems don’t pose the risk of thermal runaway that lithium-ion systems do, making them safer.
- Domestic production of sodium-ion batteries would increase supply chain security, according to Peak.
But: Cost is complicated—projections for sodium-ion batteries aren’t consistent across the industry. The projected average cost of sodium-ion storage in 2030 could be one of the highest among long-duration energy storage technologies, according to the DOE. Peak has said those estimates are based on outdated information, and it predicts the price for long-duration sodium-ion batteries could become as much as 50% cheaper than lithium batteries over the next few years.
Looking ahead: Peak Energy plans to open a factory in 2027, potentially in Wyoming (home to the largest known natural deposits for sodium carbonate).
How realistic do you think this effort is? If your answer is, “not so much,” how could Peak Energy convince you otherwise in this pilot program?
