China's first sodium-ion dump truck enters service - electrive.com
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China’s first sodium-ion dump truck enters service
Chinese companies Hina Battery and Tonly Heavy Industries say they have delivered the world's first all-electric dump truck powered by a sodium-ion battery. The project highlights the growing adoption of this cell chemistry in commercial vehicles, even though its energy density still trails that of lithium-ion batteries.
Image: Hina Battery<br>By Florian Treiss<br>05.08.2026 - 16:04
updated on 6 August 2026<br>Tonly<br>Hina Battery<br>Dump Truck
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The range of applications for sodium-ion batteries is expanding in China. Following their use in stationary energy storage systems, passenger cars and heavy-duty trucks, Hina Battery and Tonly Heavy Industries have now delivered what they describe as the world’s first battery-electric dump truck powered by a sodium-ion battery. The vehicle was handed over to mining company Sanyou Mining in July and will generate real-world operational data to support the further development of the technology.
The vehicle is based on Tonly’s TLE120 platform and is equipped with Hina Battery’s ‘Haixing’ sodium-ion battery system, which offers a storage capacity of 676 kWh. According to the manufacturer, the cells achieve an energy density of more than 165 Wh/kg. The battery can be fully charged in 20 to 25 minutes and is designed to deliver more than 8,000 charge cycles, even under regular fast-charging conditions.<br>The developers highlight the advantages of sodium-ion cell chemistry for mining applications in particular. Sodium-ion batteries are considered well suited to low-temperature operation and offer high cycle stability – both key requirements in mining, where vehicles often run in multi-shift operations and face extreme winter conditions. Hina Battery also says the technology enables smaller battery packs, shorter charging times and higher vehicle availability.
The latest deployment forms part of a broader trend in China. In June, FAW Jiefang announced the completion of extensive road tests of a heavy-duty electric truck equipped with a sodium-ion battery from Hina Battery. The vehicle covered more than 15,000 kilometres over almost seven months. According to FAW, the battery retained more than 90% of its usable capacity at temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius and is designed to achieve more than 8,000 fast-charging cycles.<br>Several Chinese battery manufacturers are advancing the commercialisation of sodium-ion technology in parallel. In May, CATL announced an investment of five billion yuan to expand its sodium-ion battery production capacity to 40 GWh per year. A month later, the company said it plans to equip up to 20,000 vehicles with the new battery technology this year. BYD has reported up to 10,000 charge cycles for its developmental cells, while BAIC has already presented prototypes with an energy density of over 170 Wh/kg.<br>However, sodium-ion technology still faces economic challenges compared to lithium-ion batteries. According to Hina Battery, sodium-ion cells currently cost between 0.5 and 0.7 yuan per Wh, compared with 0.3 to 0.5 yuan per Wh for lithium-ion cells. CEO Li Shujun expects the costs of both chemistries to converge by 2027 or 2028, with cell costs falling to around 0.3 yuan per Wh by 2028.<br>The technology also continues to lag behind lithium-ion batteries in terms of energy density. Last year, Tonly introduced a battery-electric dump truck with an 801 kWh LFP battery, compared with the 676 kWh sodium-ion battery used in the newly unveiled model. In addition, Tonly has already been offering a battery-swapping system for mining trucks for some time.<br>cnevpost.com, carnewschina.com
Tags<br>Tonly<br>Hina Battery<br>Dump Truck<br>Construction Machinery<br>BEV<br>Sodium<br>battery cells<br>China<br>Asia
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