Sodium-Ion Batteries to Give Freedom to Vehicle Owners, Income to Farmers
Hard carbon is the key anode material for sodium-ion batteries — and it is both a challenge and an opportunity
Hyderabad: Sodium-ion batteries are the final missing block that is required for India’s complete energy independence. These batteries are said to be a better alternative to the current ones that use lithium-ion, because these are safer, cheaper, less polluting and recharges quickly — are no longer in the experimental stage.
Companies like CATL are already moving towards mass production, with commercial EV deployments expected from 2026 onwards. Several governments, especially China — are backing this shift to reduce dependence on lithium, cobalt and nickel supply chains. And India cannot afford to remain a passive adopter.
Sodium-ion batteries present three structural advantages for India: It is available in abundance domestically, unlike lithium, which India largely imports. This reduces geopolitical risk and strengthens energy security. Lower raw material costs make sodium-ion batteries ideal for entry-level EVs used for intracity travel and grid storage, especially in the microgrid project discussed earlier. Sodium-ion batteries have lower thermal runaway risk, which makes it safer than lithium-ion batteries. These could also be used for buses.
Though the government has already recognised batteries as a strategic sector through the Rs. 18,100 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells, which includes sodium-ion technologies, the current efforts of the Indian industry remains lithium-centric, with sodium-ion still underfunded and under-prioritised.
At present, India’s R&D ecosystem remains fragmented. Without massive funding, Indian companies could be overtaken by Chinese and Western firms, which already have sodium-ion batteries in commercialisation stages.
According to an analysis by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India must build a full sodium-ion ecosystem, including cathode and electrolyte manufacturing, aluminium current collectors, battery cell assembly lines and hard carbon production facilities.
Hard carbon is the key anode material for sodium-ion batteries — and it is both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge because its manufacturing involves complex processes. It is an opportunity because hard carbon is made using biomass such as agricultural waste, coconut shells, among others and will give an alternative income source to farmers. Agricultural stubble, which farmers burn in the north causing massive air pollution in Delhi, could be productively used to manufacture hard carbon, creating a win-win scenario.
Economies of scale could help India to become the lead global exporter of hard carbon as the world shifts to sodium-ion batteries. The government, therefore, should encourage setting up dedicated hard carbon manufacturing clusters by offering viability gap funding (VGF) for early plants and through public-private partnerships.