Economic Observer reporter Wang Yajie

In mid to late June 2026, the bidding process for energy storage facilities in the "East Data West Computing" computing power parks in many southwestern and northwestern regions will be launched.

The Economic Observer reporter learned from the project leaders of the Chengdu Chongqing Computing Power Corridor, Ningxia Zhongwei Intelligent Computing Cloud Base, and Inner Mongolia Ordos "East Data West Computing" Industrial Park that there have been significant adjustments to the bidding rules in this round. Both sodium ion batteries (referred to as "sodium batteries") and lithium iron phosphate energy storage systems have independent bidding qualifications, and the single station energy storage configuration scale of the project is mostly 50MW/100MWh (i.e. power of 50 megawatts and capacity of 100 megawatt hours).

In the past two years, most large-scale computing power park energy storage bidding only allowed lithium iron phosphate to participate, and sodium electricity often appeared sporadically in demonstration special sections. This time, Na Dian stepped onto the stage and underwent evaluation on the same technical scale as lithium iron phosphate. Not only did they compete in terms of initial procurement costs, but they also engaged in comprehensive competition in dimensions such as low-temperature performance, raw material supply chain safety, and full lifecycle electricity costs.

There was also an unexpected phenomenon at the bidding site that caught the evaluation team off guard. Most of the companies participating in the sodium electricity bidding had declared capacities between 5MWh and 20MWh (i.e. 5MWh to 20MWh), and not many were willing to independently undertake the entire 100MWh section covering the park.

The concerns raised by multiple sodium electrical equipment manufacturers are quite similar, including insufficient supply of effective production capacity for battery grade hard carbon negative electrodes, lack of long-term material locking agreements to support, and uncertain delivery cycles after winning large orders. Due to factors such as the climbing of the dedicated sodium battery cell production line for energy storage and the tight supply of supporting electrolytes, most enterprises currently only choose to test the water in small capacity sections.

New faces on the bidding list

In mid to late June, the reporter sorted out the bidding situation of new intelligent computing supporting energy storage facilities in several places and found that more than one of these bidding places set a clause that was not available in previous years: both sodium electricity and lithium iron phosphate technology routes can participate in the bidding.

In the past, centralized energy storage facilities in large commercial computing power parks were mainly based on lithium iron phosphate batteries. The scope of activities of Sodium Electric mainly focuses on two wheeled electric vehicles, low-speed vehicles, and household energy storage, and has not entered the procurement list of high-level computing infrastructure.

The turning point will occur in 2026.

In April, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Data Administration jointly issued the National Energy Development and Technology [2026] No. 34 document (hereinafter referred to as the "No. 34 document"), encouraging the configuration of network type energy storage facilities for computing power. In May, after the document was publicly interpreted to the industry, some computing power hubs in the western region immediately adjusted the energy storage supporting standards for new intelligent computing projects.

A person involved in policy discussions told reporters that in the past, energy storage policies mainly targeted wind and solar power stations, and computing power side energy storage was mostly a spontaneous project support. Document No. 34 is a national top-level document, which for the first time binds computing infrastructure with systematic policies for grid based energy storage, which has to some extent promoted the modification of procurement rules by local state-owned asset platforms.

A person in charge of energy support in a western urban investment park told reporters that the dual line bidding is not an independent decision of a single park, but a procurement specification issued by the municipal state-owned asset operation platform in conjunction with higher-level pilot policies. He told reporters that in previous years, the energy storage bidding only set a single route for lithium iron phosphate. This year, the policy encourages the verification of new energy storage technologies. In addition, concerns about the fluctuation of raw material costs such as copper foil in computing power projects are increasing. The platform uniformly requires all centralized energy storage sections to reserve a bidding channel for sodium electricity test points.

The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above introduced that the total scale of energy storage in this round of single parks is mostly 50MW/100MWh, and the platform has designated about 10% to 20% of the capacity for sodium electricity technology pilot projects, without a one-time large-scale increase.

This ratio has been calculated, "he explained. There are two core assessments for state-owned projects: long-term stable operation and independent and controllable supply chain of key raw materials. If relying entirely on lithium resources and copper foil, both materials have a high degree of external dependence, and fluctuations in commodity prices and production capacity will affect the operating costs of the park for decades. Double line bidding is essentially a risk diversification strategy, with mature lithium batteries used as the main energy storage to ensure the bottom line of power supply in the computer room, and a small proportion of sodium batteries as technical reserves.

Low temperature is another practical consideration. In the region where the western computing hub is located, the lowest temperature in winter generally reaches minus 25 to 35 degrees Celsius. The above-mentioned person in charge said that even if the outdoor complete set of lithium iron phosphate energy storage prefabricated cabins in the park are equipped with basic insulation structures, the discharge capacity can still be reduced by 15% to 22% under low temperature conditions, and additional heating and insulation equipment is needed to increase the cost of civil engineering and electrical operation and maintenance.

In the first half of 2026, they conducted outdoor tests using small-scale sodium electricity prefabricated cabins. In the same scenario, the measured capacity loss of the sodium electricity prefabricated cabin can be controlled within 5% in an environment of minus 30 degrees Celsius, without the need for high-power insulation matching (this test is a sample data of customized sodium electricity prefabricated cabins in the park, with slight differences in battery cells from different manufacturers and differences in experimental subjects).

However, the energy density of sodium batteries is low, and there is insufficient compact energy storage space in the computer room. Lithium batteries are still preferred for indoor backup energy storage.

The plan of Chengtou is very clear, with outdoor centralized grid energy storage pilot using sodium batteries and indoor high-density backup energy storage retaining lithium batteries, walking on two legs.

During the interview, it was learned that after the issuance of Document No. 34, local development and reform departments and energy departments have simultaneously issued supporting implementation guidelines to smart computing parks, clarifying that newly built computing power centers must be equipped with grid type energy storage and encouraging diversified energy storage technology pilot projects. The entire process from policy issuance to project feasibility adjustment, review of power grid access plan, and approval of bidding plan took exactly one month to complete.

The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above revealed that during communication with multiple sodium battery companies before bidding, he found that although the leading battery companies could provide complete high-capacity solutions at the level of 100 MWh (i.e. 100 megawatt hours, the total capacity of the energy storage system), they would actively suggest that the park control the pilot capacity because the delivery cycle of sodium batteries did not match the production node of the park. Some small and medium-sized enterprises are more direct, explicitly stating that they can only undertake small sections within 10MWh.

It's not that they don't want to do it, it's that upstream materials cannot be supplied, "said the person in charge.

The threshold that I dare not cross

The evaluation team of the urban investment platform where the person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park is located also noticed that most of the companies participating in the sodium electricity bidding have declared pilot capacities ranging from 5MWh to 20MWh (5 MW to 20 MW).

Zhao Haining, the person in charge of bidding for energy storage integrators, explained to reporters that 5MWh to 20MWh is currently the upper limit that most sodium e-commerce companies without long-term hard carbon lock agreements dare to sign. For large capacity sections above 30MWh (megawatt hours), their company currently prioritizes recommending technically mature lithium iron phosphate energy storage solutions to the owners. The core reason is that the stable shipping capacity of hard carbon negative electrodes cannot support larger plates.

Zhao Haining's company has also followed up on the bidding for intelligent computing and energy storage in three regions, submitting two sets of technical solutions for lithium and sodium, but actively controlling the sodium electricity part within 20 megawatt hours. Beyond this number, even if the contract is signed, we cannot guarantee timely delivery, "he said.

This judgment is basically consistent with the calculation of Party A. The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above provides another perspective: in this round, the sodium electricity pilot quota is set at a ratio of 10% to 20%, which is equivalent to 10 to 20 megawatt hours. The pilot capacity limit planned by Party A happens to be the limit that Party B dares to report.

Why is 20 megawatt hours a threshold?

Zhao Haining explained that there is a difference between computational energy storage and conventional wind and solar energy storage. Wind and solar energy storage focuses on long-term static energy storage, with relatively relaxed requirements for cell consistency and system response speed. Different from computing power storage, AI (artificial intelligence) computing power centers have large fluctuations in load amplitude and high frequency, and energy storage systems require frequent and rapid frequency regulation, which greatly increases the requirements for cell consistency and BMS (battery management system) dynamic adjustment algorithms. The company's R&D department is urgently iterating the dedicated network type sodium electric energy storage PACK (battery module) for computing power, but the development and debugging cycle of the entire control system is longer than expected, and it is difficult to come up with a mature high-capacity solution in the short term.

Zhao Haining said that the greater constraint lies in the upstream. In the second quarter of 2026, downstream energy storage and low-speed two wheelers will simultaneously drive the demand for sodium electricity, and the overall production capacity of hard carbon has reached a tight balance. It is difficult to obtain sufficient stock if we undertake large orders at the gigawatt hour (gigawatt hour, which refers to the total capacity of large-scale energy storage projects) level at once.

Another bidding detail confirms this tension. The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above noticed during the technical clarification stage that multiple bidders actively suggested that hard carbon spot goods are in short supply, and the cost of long-term single lock prices has increased. Due to the synchronous price increase of various raw materials such as hard carbon and sodium based electrolytes, the cost advantage of the same capacity sodium electric energy storage system compared to lithium iron phosphate has significantly narrowed compared to the beginning of the year. At the same time, sodium electricity companies generally request an extension of the delivery cycle by 30 to 60 days. For urban investment, the production node of the computing power room is a hard constraint, and the power supply matching must be synchronized in place.

Zhao Haining compared that in early 2026, the sodium electric system with the same capacity still has a significant cost advantage compared to lithium iron phosphate. After two rounds of hard carbon price increases, the price difference continues to narrow. Except for scenarios such as low-temperature outdoor energy storage in the western region where sodium electricity has natural performance advantages, the pricing of sodium electricity for energy storage projects under normal working conditions is no longer competitive.

Zhao Haining further explained that the internal production capacity allocation strategy of the company is to "guarantee the main orders of lithium batteries and pilot projects for sodium batteries", without squeezing the delivery capacity of mature lithium batteries. At the pricing level, there are also two strategies: moderately compressing profits in the sodium electricity pilot section in exchange for opportunities for scenario verification; The main focus of the high-capacity main section is lithium iron phosphate, ensuring cash flow and delivery stability.

This explains why companies at the bidding site are afraid to submit large orders. It's not that they don't want the orders, but rather that both the material and delivery ends do not have the conditions to accept large orders.

The advantages of sodium batteries are repeatedly emphasized in laboratories and promotional materials: no copper foil, low temperature resistance, and low cost.

But when it comes to the bidding site, another logic determines whether a contract can be signed: whether it can be delivered on time, whether consistency can be guaranteed, and whether it can pass the grid connection test.

Zhao Haining analyzed that "hard carbon" is one of the bottlenecks: "We have made it very clear to Party A that it is not recommended to use sodium electricity above 20 megawatt hours at this stage

The urban investment evaluation team also heard this sentence. The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above told reporters that after comprehensive evaluation by the evaluation team, the pilot limit of 20% will not be exceeded in this round. "It's not that we are conservative, it's that this is the only way at this stage. Sodium electricity has been included in the bidding documents, but it's not ready for delivery yet," he said.

Why Stuck

The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above stated that they have signed annual long-term contracts with top hard carbon enterprises, but the long-term contracts only lock in basic production capacity, leaving very little room for incremental growth. If we undertake large capacity sodium electricity sections with a capacity of tens of megawatt hours or more, the long-term quota is simply not enough to cover them, and we can only divide them into multiple batches for delayed delivery.

Zhou Ming, a marketing salesperson from a hard carbon material company, explained to reporters the relevant production capacity logic.

Zhou Ming stated that the industry's publicly announced planned total production capacity appears to be large, but a large number of newly built production lines have not yet completed the ramp up, and the effective shipping capacity that can truly stabilize supply and meet energy storage long-term cycle standards is very limited. In June, the centralized bidding for computing power storage in the western region brought about new demand for battery cells, and the spot hard carbon market has become temporarily tight. Downstream battery companies need to lock up their goods 1 to 3 months in advance, and it is difficult to deliver them quickly and in full for temporary large purchases. This supply-demand imbalance began in April to May 2026. After the release of Document No. 34, the energy storage supporting standards of various computing power parks were adjusted one after another, and the sodium electricity pilot channel was opened up in a concentrated manner. The originally scattered small batch demand converged into a centralized procurement expectation in the short term, but the upstream hard carbon production line construction cycle was long and could not respond synchronously, resulting in a temporary supply shortage in the spot market before the bidding season in June.

Zhou Ming also stated that the industry's standardized 10000 ton hard carbon production line, from project approval and environmental impact assessment, civil construction, equipment debugging to stable mass production ramp up, generally has a complete implementation cycle of 18 to 24 months. Within 2026, only a small number of production lines that started in the first half of last year will be able to release incremental production capacity, and newly approved expansion projects this year will not be able to generate effective supply within the year. The short-term supply increment is very limited

The upstream raw material process is also creating pressure.

Zhou Ming introduced that there are two mainstream raw material routes for hard carbon: one is coconut shell based, which has stable performance but relies on overseas imports, with production concentrated in Southeast Asia. Fluctuations in production policies and changes in shipping can directly affect supply stability; The second is the coal based hard carbon that is being promoted domestically, which is considered the main direction for domestic substitution. However, at present, the large-scale stable mass production capacity is still insufficient. Currently, the stable mass production capacity of coal based hard carbon in China is limited, and the overall market demand can only be diverted by about 30%. It is difficult to fully fill the new procurement gap caused by computing energy storage in the short term.

He confirmed a trend with reporters that the import price of coconut shell based precursors continues to rise due to fluctuations in overseas production capacity and shipping. Although domestic coal based hard carbon production is expanding, there is still a gap in process maturity. At the beginning of the year, the sodium electric system with the same capacity had a significant cost advantage compared to lithium iron phosphate. After two rounds of hard carbon price increases, the price difference continued to narrow. Except for scenarios where sodium electricity has natural performance advantages such as low-temperature computing power outdoor energy storage in the western region, the price of sodium electricity for energy storage projects under normal working conditions is difficult to surpass that of lithium iron phosphate.

Zhao Haining stated that when submitting the sodium electricity plan at the beginning of the year, Party A would take a closer look due to cost advantages. In this round of bidding in June, the price increase of hard carbon has already eaten up most of the price difference. "When we report sodium electricity now, we can only emphasize low temperature and supply chain safety, and cost is no longer a bonus point," he said.

Zhou Ming added that, however, top battery manufacturers with hard carbon long-term cooperation have the ability to undertake the delivery of sodium battery pilot sections with a capacity of over 50MWh, and most small and medium-sized manufacturers in the industry are still limited by material constraints on capacity.

The above-mentioned participants in the policy discussion believe that developing the top-level industry of sodium electricity can optimize the overall supply chain structure of energy storage and hedge the cyclical supply risks of lithium and copper resources. However, there are phased characteristics in the development of the industry, and the sudden outbreak of demand for previously niche hard carbon anodes has formed new supply constraints.

This indicates that the independent and controllable development of the energy storage industry chain is a systematic project that cannot only focus on the main materials of battery cells. For segmented materials such as negative electrodes and electrolytes, simultaneous localization expansion and technological breakthroughs are needed, "said the person who participated in the policy discussion.

According to the estimation of mainstream industry institutions on the construction and ramp up progress of hard carbon production lines, it is expected that the newly added effective production capacity in the industry will be released in the second half of 2027, and the complete supply chain of sodium and electricity will be able to stably support the large-scale landing of 100 MWh level computing energy storage projects in 2028. Throughout 2026, sodium electricity will mainly focus on small-scale demonstration pilot projects in the field of intelligent computing and energy storage, which can only be used for technical verification and scene data accumulation, and it is difficult to form large-scale commercial production.

The bidding channel has been opened, and Sodium Electric has also obtained the qualification to enter the site. But from the bidding site to the hard carbon production line, from the pilot order of 5 megawatt hours to the true scale commercial use, there is still a distance in between. This distance refers to the fact that sodium power has "entered the market" in policy documents and bidding terms, but has not yet been truly in place in material supply, capacity delivery, system support and other aspects. This is the core contradiction between "entry" and "maturity" at the current stage.

The person in charge of energy support in the western urban investment park mentioned above said, "The real increase in hard carbon production capacity is estimated to be in the second half of next year. Before that, it's better to take small steps to explore