General Motors is making a play for the stationary energy storage market, and it’s doing it with a battery chemistry that doesn’t require lithium at all.
The automaker announced a strategic partnership with Peak Energy, a Denver-based startup specializing in sodium-ion battery systems for grid-scale storage. GM Ventures is making an investment in the company, while GM itself will lead cell development at its Michigan laboratories and retain exclusive manufacturing rights for the resulting battery cells. Peak Energy will then package those cells into its passively cooled battery energy storage systems.
Why sodium-ion, and why now
Sodium-ion technology promises lower costs, improved safety and reliability, and far more accessible raw materials compared to lithium-ion alternatives.
Peak Energy isn’t exactly a newcomer to this idea, despite being founded just in 2023. The company deployed what it described as the first grid-scale sodium-ion system in the US, a 3.5 MWh installation, back in September 2025. It also secured a multi-year agreement for up to 4.75 GWh with Jupiter Power and announced a pilot project with RWE Americas in March 2026.
