China's sodium-ion push widens with first electric mining truck delivery

An all-electric mining truck powered by sodium-ion batteries has been delivered in China, pushing the emerging battery technology into heavy-duty machinery.

Sodium-ion battery maker Hina Battery said on Tuesday that a sodium-ion battery mining truck it jointly developed with Shaanxi Tonly Heavy Industries has been delivered, calling it the world's first such vehicle.

The mining truck was delivered in July to Sanyou Mining, a unit of Tangshan-based Sanyou Group.

The vehicle is based on Tonly's 120E series platform and carries Hina Battery's in-house developed Haixing series battery system, with a total capacity of 676 kWh.

In March 2025, Hina Battery unveiled its Haixing series battery system, with cell energy density exceeding 165 Wh/kg.

The company said at the time that the battery could be fully charged in 20–25 minutes and still maintain a cycle life of over 8,000 cycles even in fast-charging mode.

Hina Battery said the solution taps sodium-ion batteries' long cycle life, wide temperature range and high-rate capability, matching mining sites' cost requirements of smaller packs, fast charging and high utilization.

Mines are heavy diesel consumers, and their dusty operating environments and wide temperature swings place higher demands on battery cycle life and low-temperature performance. Hina Battery said its sodium-ion solution will speed up the replacement of diesel engines with electric powertrains.

This is Hina Battery's second major move in commercial vehicles this year. In June, FAW Jiefang completed systematic road testing of a sodium-ion battery heavy truck developed with Hina Battery .

The test vehicle was a Jiefang J6P all-electric tractor carrying a 339-kWh sodium-ion battery, which covered more than 15,000 kilometers over nearly seven months.

FAW Jiefang said the battery retained more than 90 percent of its usable capacity at minus 40 degrees Celsius, with a cycle life of over 8,000 cycles under fast-charging conditions.

A race to commercialize sodium-ion batteries is under way in China, as the industry looks for alternatives to lithium that balance cost and performance.

CATL (HKEX: 3750) disclosed in May that it plans to invest 5 billion yuan ($736.5 million) to build 40 GWh of new sodium-ion battery capacity in Fujian.

The battery giant unveiled a sodium-ion battery for light commercial vehicles in January, and in February joined Changan Automobile to reveal the first mass-produced sodium-ion battery passenger car.

BYD (HKEX: 1211) has said it developed a sodium-ion battery with a cycle life of 10,000 cycles , while BAIC Group has unveiled samples with an energy density of more than 170 Wh/kg.

Cost remains the main hurdle. Hina Battery general manager Li Shujun said in March that sodium-ion batteries currently cost 0.5 yuan to 0.7 yuan per Wh, above the 0.3 yuan to 0.5 yuan for lithium batteries.

He expects the two to converge in price in 2027 or 2028, with sodium-ion cell costs falling to 0.3 yuan per Wh by 2028.

($1 = 6.7889 yuan)