Green Shoots: A Closer Look at Sodium-Ion BESS

Research evidence excerpt

Green Shoots: A Closer Look at Sodium-Ion BESS

RBC Capital Markets, LLC

Christopher Dendrinos, CFA

(Analyst)

(212) 428-6522,

christopher.dendrinos@rbccm.com

Laura Deng (Senior

Associate)

(212) 618-7527,

June 15, 2026 laura.deng@rbccm.com

Green Shoots: A Closer Look at Sodium-Ion BESSRESEARCH Our view: On June 9, GM (covered by RBC analyst Tom Narayan) announced it is expanding its

grid-scale battery capabilities and partnering with Peak Energy to invest in sodium-ion batteries.

The announcement follows NXT's entrance into BESS through the acquisition of Prevalon (here) and

F's investment in stationary BESS and recent framework agreement with EDF (here). For industry

incumbent's like FLNC this means more competition, but GM/Peak Energy appear to be taking a

differentiated approach by focusing on sodium iron phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) sodium-ion

technology which is more expensive today but could provide longer-term total cost of ownership (TCO)

advantages vs current LFP technology.EQUITY

Sodium-ion value proposition. Sodium-ion batteries substitute low cost soda ash (sodium carbonate)

in place of higher cost lithium in the battery chemistry. Soda ash is one of the most abundantly used

industrial materials globally and is essential in many common manufacturing processes such as glass

manufacturing and as an ingredient in detergents and soaps. This means it already has a globally

available low-cost supply chain. In addition to lower raw material input costs, NFPP batteries have

certain performance advantages that make them well suited for stationary applications (improved

thermal runaway thresholds and longer cycle life). The disadvantage is lower energy density than

LFP batteries which potentially limits their application in EV deployment. Today costs are higher than