US automaker General Motors led a US$108 million series B funding round for Peak Energy, a US sodium-ion battery startup, to expand manufacturing in California. Peak also announced plans to build what it described as the US’ first sodium-ion battery gigafactory in the US, in Sacramento.

The investment follows a partnership announced in June, when GM and Peak agreed to scale supplies of sodium-ion batteries for grid-scale and other stationary storage. The deal also extends GM’s push to expand beyond electric vehicles into energy solutions.

BloombergNEF forecast sodium-ion battery demand would rise from just over 1 gigawatt-hour in 2025 to 257 gigawatt-hours by 2035. The research firm said the technology could account for almost 10% of stationary storage by then.

However, the sodium-ion battery remains at an early stage, and the cells are still more expensive than lithium-ion alternatives. China also accounts for most installed and announced sodium-ion manufacturing capacity through 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

🔗 Source: Bloomberg