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GM is betting on battery cells that don’t use lithium
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- DeepHorus
General Motors has partnered with Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion battery cells for grid-scale energy storage, not electric vehicles. GM will develop the cells in Michigan and retain exclusive manufacturing rights, while Peak will integrate them into its storage systems. GM Ventures is also investing in Peak.
The companies are targeting a fast-growing market as utilities add storage for renewable energy, rising electricity demand, and data centers. Lithium-iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries currently dominate stationary storage. Peak argues sodium-ion cells can offer a lower-cost alternative where energy density matters less than cost, reliability, and safety.
Peak’s key differentiator is a passively cooled storage platform. Conventional LFP systems need active cooling to maintain safe temperatures, adding cost and complexity. Peak says its design eliminates that equipment, cuts energy-storage costs by 20%, and delivers more than 99% uptime.
Peak estimates its passively cooled technology could cut U.S. battery-storage energy waste by up to 2 terawatt-hours annually, enough to power a mid-sized city for a year. GM battery and sustainability vice president Kurt Kelty said the application should determine the battery. For grid-scale storage, he said, sodium-ion is the right solution.
GM does not plan to develop sodium-ion cells for EVs because their energy density is too low. Sodium-ion’s global market share remains small, but interest is growing because the chemistry uses more abundant, lower-cost materials. On October 23, 2026, Peak said it raised $108 million in an oversubscribed Series B round led by GM Ventures, with LG Technology Ventures and other investors.
Peak will use the funds to expand U.S. manufacturing, fill more than $1 billion in existing orders, and enter the data-center market. The deal shows growing interest in matching battery chemistry to specific applications. For grid storage, sodium-ion’s cost and safety advantages may outweigh its lower energy density.
