A new type of home battery is coming to the US. UNIGRID, a California-based startup, has started installing its Na+Casa battery in homes across Europe, using sodium-ion technology instead of the lithium-ion found in most home batteries today, including the Tesla Powerwall. The company expects US installations by the end of 2026, once the batteries clear North American certification.
Sodium-ion batteries use cheap, widely available sodium instead of lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which can ease supply chain concerns. UNIGRID says its battery is built to last 25 years, roughly matching the lifespan of a rooftop solar system, so you would not need to replace the battery halfway through your solar setup's life, as can happen with some lithium batteries. The company also says the chemistry avoids thermal propagation, the chain reaction that lets battery fires spread from cell to cell, and that the battery can handle extreme temperatures, from -40°F to 140°F.
The Na+Casa stores 9.25 kilowatt-hours of electricity, less than some lithium competitors, but works with most existing hybrid inverters, so it could fit both new solar installs and retrofits on existing systems. UNIGRID says the price is competitive with lithium-ion batteries, though it has not published exact figures. The company currently produces enough cells for 200 megawatt-hours of storage a year and plans to scale up to 2 gigawatt-hours by 2027 through manufacturing partners in China, South Korea, and Japan.
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