Clarios, Altris and InoBat Move Sodium-Ion Batteries Toward Pilot-Scale Production

Clarios, Altris and InoBat Advance Sodium-Ion Technology Toward Industrialization

Successful customer evaluations and cold-cranking performance validated down to –40°C support the transition from validation to pilot-scale and small-series production.

Glendale, September 14, 2026 – Clarios, a global leader in advanced low-voltage battery solutions, together with Swedish sodium-ion innovator Altris and European battery manufacturer InoBat, today announced significant progress in the development of sodium-ion battery technology for low-voltage and high-power applications.

Over the past months, the partners have completed a new phase of validation activities designed to further mature sodium-ion technology for future commercial applications. The program included successful summer validation under demanding operating conditions and continued validation activities with key customers across automotive, heavy-duty and off-highway segments. These activities, combined with significant improvements in cold-weather performance, further strengthen confidence in sodium-ion’s suitability for future low-voltage and high-power applications. Recent testing has extended cold-cranking capability from previously communicated performance levels to temperatures as low as –40°C, marking a significant advancement in sodium-ion low-temperature performance and broadening its applicability in demanding operating environments.

Federico Morales-Zimmermann, Vice President and General Manager, Global OEM Customers, Products and Engineering at Clarios, said:

The latest validation results mark an important step forward in our sodium-ion roadmap,

“Ongoing validation work with key customers across automotive, heavy-duty and off-highway applications, combined with expanded testing activities and improved low-temperature performance, gives us confidence to move from technology development toward pilot-scale and small-series production. Sodium-ion is becoming a commercially relevant technology pathway for future low-voltage and high-power applications.”

The validation work included both internal testing and customer evaluations across automotive, commercial vehicle and intralogistics applications. Feedback from these activities has helped refine application requirements, confirm the relevance of the current cell design and support the next phase of development. Validation activities, customer evaluations and recent performance improvements have provided the confidence to advance the validated cell design toward pilot-scale learning and small-series production readiness. The partners are seeing growing interest across several market segments, reflecting the potential role of sodium-ion as a complementary technology for applications that require high power, reliable performance and a more localized supply chain.

Christer Bergquist, CEO of Altris, said:

For Altris, the latest results demonstrate the progress of its cathode material under demanding automotive validation conditions.

“Automotive low-voltage is one of the most demanding validation environments for sodium-ion technology, and Altris’ cathode material has now come through it. Proving the chemistry at that standard, with a material that uses no lithium, nickel or cobalt and can be produced in Europe at scale, is what makes the next phase possible,”

Building on these results, the program is now advancing beyond prototype development toward pilot-scale learning and small-series production readiness. The next phase will utilize InoBat’s Volta facility in Slovakia, an operational pilot manufacturing site that combines R&D, testing and small-scale production capabilities within a single location. The facility provides an established environment for product maturation, customer evaluations and industrialization-readiness activities.

Marian Bocek, InoBat Co-Founder and CEO, said:

One of the biggest challenges in battery innovation is bridging the gap between successful development and scalable manufacturing,

“Pilot-scale production alongside InoBat engineering and manufacturing expertise allows us to validate processes, support customer programs and prepare the technology for broader commercialization. At InoBat, we strongly believe in Na-ion as an enabler for sovereign and secure western supply chain. Our current activities with Clarios and Altris take an important step on the path toward this vision.”

The collaboration combines Altris’ sodium-ion battery expertise, Clarios’ battery-system integration and industrialization capabilities, and InoBat’s cell-development and manufacturing know-how. Together, the companies are advancing sodium-ion from validation toward industrialization readiness, with the goal of supporting future low-voltage and high-power applications across automotive, commercial vehicle and intralogistics markets.

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Clarios, Altris and InoBat Advance Sodium-Ion Technology Toward Industrialization, source