UNIGRID Begins Commercial-Scale Deliveries of Sodium-Ion Batteries

Achievement marks first sodium-ion battery company outside of China to successfully export sodium-ion at scale

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- UNIGRID Inc., the ultra-safe sodium-ion battery company, today announced that it has begun commercial-volume international shipments of its proprietary NCO sodium-ion cells. This milestone positions U.S.-based UNIGRID as the first battery company outside of China to export sodium-ion at scale, enabled by critical transport certifications and its cost-efficient foundry manufacturing model.

Scaling new battery chemistries is typically constrained by the high costs and long timelines of building dedicated gigafactories, which slows commercialization and limits access to emerging technologies. UNIGRID operates a fab-less, foundry-subscription model, scaling its proprietary sodium-ion cell chemistry through manufacturing partners rather than building capital-intensive gigafactories. This approach enables rapid global scale-up, with Grade A cells shipped directly from foundries to customers in 40-foot ocean containers.

Commercialization accelerated earlier last year following UNIGRID's successful attainment of UN38.3 transport certification for its sodium-ion cells. By the end of 2025, the company had progressed rapidly from pilot-scale production to commercial export volumes. These shipments marked the first-of-their-kind commercial sodium-ion exports at several international ports, which were previously only equipped to handle conventional batteries like lithium-ion and now required authorities to navigate new processes and declarations for a new battery chemistry.

"This milestone validates a path for us to bring safe, scalable NCO sodium-ion technology to global markets," said Darren H. S. Tan, CEO and co-founder of UNIGRID. "Through collaboration with our foundry partners, we've proven that advanced battery chemistries can be commercialized without massive capital buildouts."

With the dual obstacles of certification and international shipping logistics successfully cleared, UNIGRID is now available to begin fulfilling its off-take agreements in 2026.

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About UNIGRID, Inc.

UNIGRID, Inc. delivers safe, low-cost, advanced sodium-ion batteries to power energy storage and motive applications. It's a University of California, San Diego spin-off company founded in 2021 based on the groundbreaking Ph.D. research work of Dr. Darren H. S. Tan and Dr. Erik A. Wu. To learn more about UNIGRID, Inc., visit the website: https://unigridbattery.com/

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SOURCE UNIGRID