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Inlyte reports zero loss over 700 cycles for its iron-sodium battery tech

California-based startup Inlyte Energy has announced that its iron-sodium chemistry has demonstrated stable cycling in commercial-size cells, proving its readiness for scale-up.


The technology leverages the design of the sodium metal chloride battery and relies on abundantly available iron and sodium (such as the one found in table salt). Inlyte prides on the technology’s dual utilization, citing high efficiency for both daily cycling (4–10 hours) and affordability for long-duration storage (24+ hours).


Sodium metal chloride batteries were originally developed for electric vehicles in the 1980s and 1990s, but cost reductions and scale have been held back by its cost structure. Inlyte’s team is now optimizing this technology platform for long-duration energy storage, replacing nickel with iron in a bid to achieve cost reductions while maintaining high performance.


However, limited research on the sodium-iron chloride battery chemistry to date has shown variable cycling performance in terms of the number of charge-discharge cycles it can complete before losing performance.


Now, Inlyte has revealed that its cells have achieved over 700 cycles with no loss in energy capacity and 90% roundtrip efficiency, using today’s commercially-produced sodium metal chloride cell format.


According to the company, these results, representing over a year of testing, project a battery life of at least 7,000 cycles or 20 years — matching the proven performance of traditional sodium nickel chloride batteries, but at a fraction of the cost.


“Our proprietary iron cathode innovation and optimized operating conditions make this milestone possible,” added Will Gent, VP of Engineering. “By leveraging earth-abundant iron and table salt, we are transforming economics and enabling domestic supply chains for energy storage.”


Founded in 2021, Inlyte Energy has advanced its technology with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E Seed program – which funded early work contributing to this iron-sodium advance – as well as early-stage venture funding early-stage venture funding and a follow-on investment in September 2024. The startup counts At One Ventures, First Spark Ventures, Valo Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, among its investors.


In 2022, it acquired UK-based Beta Research Ltd., composed of the core team of scientists who originally developed a sodium metal halide battery 40 years ago and brought the technology to commercial readiness and manufacturing capacity on multiple continents. Beta Research’s fully-functioning pilot production line, with 30,000 square feet of manufacturing and testing facilities, allows Inlyte to immediately go-to-market with pilot projects once the optimized design is complete.


Looking ahead, the California startup is targeting commercial demonstration projects in 2025 and large-scale U.S. manufacturing by early 2027. “This milestone positions Inlyte to meet growing demand for resilient, long-duration storage solutions while supporting robust expansion of a burgeoning U.S. energy storage industry to serve explosive market growth, both domestic and international,” the company said announcing its latest perfomance results.

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