CATL’s Naxtra sodium-ion battery passes new national safety standards, ready for mass production
Battery giant CATL announced today that its Naxtra sodium-ion battery has successfully passed the GB 38031-2025 “Safety Requirements for Power Batteries of Electric Vehicles” certification on September 5, becoming the world’s first sodium-ion battery to meet this new national standard.
The new standard, set to be officially implemented on July 1, 2026, aims to eliminate fire risks in electric vehicles at the source by imposing strict safety requirements across multiple dimensions, including thermal diffusion, bottom impact, and fast-charging cycles. In third-party authoritative testing conducted by the Automotive Testing Centre of China Automotive Technology and Research Centre (CATARC), CATL’s Naxtra battery demonstrated safety performance at both the cell and battery pack levels, successfully passing all tests.
The Naxtra battery not only reduces dependence on lithium resources and creates a safer, lower-carbon battery ecosystem, but also addresses low-temperature performance issues in cold regions, promoting the adoption of new energy vehicles in China’s northern and other high-latitude areas. This certification represents a milestone in the large-scale application of sodium-ion batteries.
CATL previously announced in April that its Naxtra sodium-ion battery would begin mass production in December 2025, with initial deployment in its Choco-swap electric vehicle models. The battery maintains 90% usable capacity at temperatures as low as -40°C and features an energy density of 175Wh/kg, comparable to lithium iron phosphate batteries. It supports peak charging rates of 5C, offers a 500km range, and has a lifespan exceeding 10,000 cycles.
The company’s Chocolate battery swapping business has experienced growth, adding 105 new stations and activating 103 stations in August alone, marking the first time it has “broken the hundred mark” in both metrics. As of the end of August, CATL has established 512 Chocolate swapping stations across 34 cities nationwide.
CATL has stated it aims to reach its goal of “1,000 stations by 2025” for its Chocolate battery swap network.
Source: CATL
