Inlyte Energy has completed a factory acceptance test of its first full-scale iron-sodium battery storage system at its UK facility near Derby.
The milestone was witnessed by representatives from Southern Company, one of the largest energy providers in the United States, marking a significant step toward commercial deployment.
The system integrates advanced sodium metal chloride cells with inverter and control electronics, demonstrating readiness for field installation. Each module is capable of storing more than 300KWh of energy, making them the largest sodium metal chloride battery cells and modules ever built.
Global demand for energy storage is rising sharply, with the market expected to grow from $70 billion in 2025 to over $150 billion by 2030. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates more than 225GW of long-duration energy storage will be required by 2050 – far beyond the economic reach of current lithium-ion technologies.
“To win the future we need abundant and secure supplies of energy in the US, and at the same time we need to make costs go down, not up,” said Antonio Baclig, CEO of Inlyte Energy. “We can’t do that by building the same thing as China. We need to make better technologies, with batteries that are fundamentally lower cost, safer and longer lasting. By leveraging a breakthrough in the use of iron in the proven sodium metal chloride battery, Inlyte can scale rapidly.”
The tested system achieved 83% round-trip efficiency, competitive with lithium-ion and well above the 40–70% range typical for other long-duration technologies.
Following this validation, Inlyte plans early 2026 field installation in Alabama, alongside a strategic partnership with HORIEN Salt Battery Solutions to accelerate manufacturing and commercial deliveries by 2027.
