Lea Thome
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has emerged as the world’s largest producers of electric vehicles (EVs). In becoming the dominant global player, it has had to grapple with the high cost and low supply of raw lithium materials—critical inputs for the batteries that fuel most new energy vehicles. A lack of lithium deposits at home have led Chinese investors and mining companies to set up shop in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, and Zimbabwe, to extract and process the silvery metal. But as supply chains have become increasingly volatile due to tariffs, export bans, and host country legislation, Chinese policymakers and companies have started exploring alternatives to support the growth of the new energy storage industry.
One solution is sodium. In recent years, Chinese engineers have been testing sodium-based new-type energy storage technologies. In 2025, they deployed them for the first time. Chinese firms have also begun to focus their attention on the country’s salt lake industry, which is rich in sodium products but also offers opportunities to extract lithium and other materials.
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