State-owned operator China Southern Power Grid has commissioned a hybrid lithium-sodium energy storage system (ESS) with a capacity of 200 MW and a capacity of 400 MWh. The facility is located in Yunnan Province and covers an area of ​​3 hectares.

Technical parameters

• The system is designed for two charge-discharge cycles per day, which allows it to accumulate and deliver 580 million kWh of electricity per year.
• 98% of the charge is provided by renewable energy sources (RES).
• The facility is connected to 30 wind and solar power plants in the region.

Technology features

The hybrid design combines lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. The project uses China’s first large-scale sodium-ion battery of local development.

• The battery response speed is 6 times higher than other sodium-ion analogues.
• The operating temperature range is from -20 ° C to + 45 ° C.

Sodium-ion batteries are produced from available raw materials (salt mines, seawater, salt lakes), which reduces dependence on lithium imports.

Sodium-ion storage development context

• In 2021, CATL introduced the first generation of sodium-ion batteries.
• In July 2024, a sodium-ion ESS with a capacity of 100 MWh was launched in China.

This project is aimed at integrating renewable energy sources into the power grid and reducing material costs through the use of sodium-ion technologies.