SHENZHEN, May 13, 2026 — The 18th China International Battery Fair (CIBF 2026) kicked off today at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (Bao'an District), focusing on the theme of "new productive forces" to showcase the latest technological breakthroughs and industrial trends in the global battery industry. Industry insiders and institutional analysts attending the event unanimously pointed out that 2026 marks a critical year for the battery industry, with the simultaneous advancement of sodium-ion batteries, lithium-ion battery cycle recovery, and solid-state battery industrialization, driving the industry into a new era of high-quality development.
This year is hailed as the first year of commercialization for sodium-ion batteries, with technological routes converging on two main directions: layered oxides for power applications and polyanionic compounds for energy storage, while the Prussian blue route is gradually marginalized. According to industry data, the cost of sodium-ion batteries is expected to drop to 0.2-0.3 yuan per Wh after large-scale production, which is more economical than lithium iron phosphate batteries. Endowed with advantages such as independent and controllable sodium resources, high retention rate at -40℃, high rate performance, and long cycle life, sodium-ion batteries are taking the lead in large-scale replacement of lead-acid and lithium batteries in three core scenarios: energy storage, start-stop power supplies, and electric two-wheelers. The cycle life of sodium-ion batteries in the energy storage field can reach 20,000 times, becoming a key support for the new power system, while they also achieve dual breakthroughs in lightweight and low cost for electric two-wheelers. It is estimated that the shipment volume of sodium-ion batteries will exceed 15 GWh in 2026 and reach 500 GWh by 2030, with a penetration rate exceeding 30%, forming a "sodium-lithium dual-star" pattern in the battery market.
The lithium-ion battery industry has also entered a new cycle of volume and price growth, with the inflection point of the industrial cycle firmly established. Driven by both power and energy storage demand, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to grow by more than 30% in 2026, among which the energy storage sector, boosted by capacity pricing, AIDC energy storage allocation, and overseas household energy storage resonance, will see a growth rate exceeding 70%. On the supply side, material manufacturers have adopted a prudent expansion strategy, with the capacity utilization rate of lithium iron phosphate, lithium hexafluorophosphate, diaphragms and other links exceeding 80%, and leading enterprises operating at full capacity. Since the second half of 2025, prices of energy storage cells, lithium iron phosphate, diaphragms, and electrolytes have stabilized and rebounded, and policies to combat vicious competition and support costs have further enhanced the flexibility of profit recovery, making the midstream material sector the core main line for the industry's valuation recovery.
Solid-state batteries, as the core direction of the next-generation battery technology, are accelerating their industrialization process, with the sulfide route becoming the mainstream. In 2026, the industry has entered a critical period of semi-solid-state mass production and all-solid-state pilot testing, with energy density expected to reach 400-500 Wh/kg, and overall safety and cycle life significantly superior to liquid batteries. Technological innovation has brought about increments and upgrades in equipment: dry mixing and fiberized dry electrode equipment have been added in the front-end process; winding has been replaced by lamination, isostatic pressing, and frame printing in the middle-end; and high-voltage formation and grading have been upgraded in the back-end, greatly improving the value and technical threshold of equipment. Industry forecasts show that the global solid-state battery equipment market is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan by 2030, becoming a high-elasticity growth track in the battery sector.
In addition to technological iterations, the global battery market scale is also expanding rapidly. It is estimated that the global battery market will reach 1.5 trillion US dollars in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 25%, among which power batteries account for 62%, energy storage batteries 28%, and consumer electronics batteries 10%. The global market pattern presents a tripartite confrontation among China, Japan, and South Korea, with Chinese enterprises accounting for 58% of the global market share. Leading enterprises such as CATL, BYD, and Eve Energy are accelerating their global layout, while technological breakthroughs in related fields are constantly emerging. A joint team composed of researchers from the 811 Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Eighth Academy and Nankai University recently successfully developed a hydrofluorocarbon electrolyte, which can increase the energy density of lithium batteries to more than 700 Wh/kg at room temperature and maintain about 400 Wh/kg at -50℃, marking a new breakthrough in China's core lithium battery technology.
Institutional analysts including Zeng Duohong from Soochow Securities and Huang Xiuyu from Dongguan Securities pointed out that the battery industry in 2026 is in a resonance stage of new technology landing and cycle recovery. With the dual drive of power and energy storage, and the accelerated iteration of sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, the industry's market space will continue to expand, and technological innovation and industrial upgrading will become the core driving forces for long-term development.