General Motors is preparing a larger push into energy storage with a new sodium-ion battery chemistry aimed at stationary power systems, as demand grows from data centers, electrification, and grid storage needs.
The company announced the plan during GM Empower 2026, where it outlined new work across electrification, batteries, and energy. GM has worked in energy storage before, but the sodium-ion plan gives it a more defined product path for the market.
GM Targets Stationary Battery Storage
GM’s first major product in this area will use sodium-ion cells, though the cells are not expected to be ready until later this decade. Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of battery and sustainability, told TechCrunch that the company sees significant market potential.
“We’re going to develop a family of cells that is appropriate for this market,” Kelty said.
The company is choosing sodium-ion instead of simply repackaging lithium-ion cells from its current battery factories. Andy Oury, GM’s business planning manager, said GM does not want to shift lithium-ion capacity away from EVs in case EV demand returns to a higher-growth phase.
Energy Storage Demand Continues To Grow
Stationary battery sales have doubled in the past two years, while EV sales in the United States have slowed. The Solar Energy Industries Association expects annual installations to exceed 110 GWh per year by 2030, roughly double current levels.
Demand is being driven by several factors. Data center energy use is expected to nearly triple by the end of the decade, while transportation, manufacturing, HVAC, and other parts of the economy continue to electrify.
“Data centers are a big part of the growth, but even without data centers, it started to really pick up,” Kelty said.
Tesla Leads The Current Market
Tesla currently holds the largest share of the energy storage market. Of the 57 GWh installed last year, Tesla accounted for 82% of those installations.
Tesla’s annual revenue from energy generation and storage has doubled since 2023, supported by Megapack and Powerwall growth. Its gross profit for the segment is around 30%, about double what it earns from EV sales and at least three times higher than typical automaker margins.
GM’s gross margin over the last 15 years has averaged just over 11%.
Sodium-Ion Offers Supply Chain Advantages
GM said sodium-ion chemistry offers access to cheaper and more abundant materials. The batteries also do not require an active cooling system and can handle more charge-discharge cycles than lithium-ion batteries.
Oury said the chemistry gives GM a path toward supply-chain resilience and lower-cost materials. He added that sodium-ion remains early enough for supply chains to develop in different regions, unlike several battery chemistries where China already controls much of the materials processing.
GM is also developing lithium-manganese-rich batteries, or LMR, for EVs. The chemistry is expected to debut in 2028 and could cut the cost of a new EV by about 10% while preserving most of today’s driving range.
Kelty said GM is not ruling out sodium-ion for EVs in the long run. Chinese automakers have already tested sodium-ion packs, which are heavier and have less range but are cheaper, less prone to fire, and potentially faster to charge.
Featured image credits: Flickr
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.