When "lithium and sodium run in parallel and solid and liquid advance together" has become the new consensus in the energy storage industry, an industrial summit gathering materials scientists and intelligent equipment engineers is also moving from "forum agenda" to "industry site" - Professor II, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Institute of Chemical Power Sources and Materials Tang Yougen, chairman of the board of directors and president of the Hunan Battery Industry Association, has officially confirmed that he will attend the 2026 New Energy and New Materials Industry Development Forum and the Yifu Intelligent Hubei New Industrial Park Moving Celebration, and will bring a special report on "Sodium Solid Exploration, New Energy Storage Domain: Technology R&D and Path Exploration of Sodium Solid-State Batteries".

The energy storage cultivator who put sodium and solid-state batteries on the industrial map

Tang Yougen is a second-level professor and doctoral supervisor at Central South University. He is currently the director of the Institute of Chemical Power Sources and Materials of Central South University, director of the Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Power Sources, counselor of the Hunan Provincial People's Government, president of the Hunan Provincial Battery Industry Association, chairman of the Hunan Provincial Battery Materials and Battery Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, and executive deputy director and secretary-general of the China Energy Storage and Power Source and Materials Professional Committee.  

He has long been engaged in research on advanced batteries, new energy materials and applied electrochemistry, covering sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, hard carbon anodes and new electrolytes. He has conducted visiting research at the University of Göttingen in Germany, the University of St. Andrews in the UK, and the University of Queensland in Australia; he has undertaken more than 20 projects such as the National "863" Program, the National Natural Science Foundation and major corporate technology projects, with a scientific research funding of more than 30 million yuan; he has worked in Nature Communications, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Energy & Environmental Science, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials He has published more than 300 academic papers in journals, won 12 provincial and ministerial science and technology progress awards, more than 20 national invention patents, and published 5 monographs and textbooks.

At the same time, he is also a practical person in the transformation of industry, academia and research. As the chief scientist of Hunan Naike New Materials Co., Ltd., he promotes bamboo-based hard carbon anodes from laboratories to 1,000-ton production lines, truly tying "sodium anodes" and "green resources" into the industrial chain.

Sodium solid-state batteries: "Safe base" and "energy transition" for next-generation energy storage

After lithium batteries, the industry is asking the next question: Can there be a type of battery that not only retains the resource and cost advantages of sodium, but also has the safety and long life of a solid-state system?

Professor Tang Yougen’s judgment is very clear—sodium solid-state batteries are the key variable on this road:

• Safe reconstruction: Use solid electrolytes to replace flammable organic electrolytes, which have stronger thermal stability and significantly reduce the risk of thermal runaway;

• Interface challenges: sodium dendrites, solid-solid contact impedance, and anode/electrolyte interface degradation are the three hurdles that must be overcome;

• Material coupling: hard carbon/alloy anode, polyanion/layered cathode, oxide/sulfide/polymer electrolyte, need to be recombined;

• Project implementation: From button batteries to soft pack verification to pilot production lines, equipment, processes and materials must be iterated together.

As he often emphasizes: "Sodium batteries are not a substitute for lithium batteries, and solid-state batteries are not conceptual packaging; the real difficulty is to put materials, interfaces and production lines into the same coordinate system to calculate accounts."

In-depth echo with the theme of the forum "New Energy and New Materials"

Professor Tang Yougen's report will form three clear contrasts with this forum:

• Current status of sodium solid state: Is it at the "proof of concept" or "pilot scale critical point"

• Technical stuck points: electrolyte ion conductivity, interface impedance, anode expansion, large-scale manufacturing, who will break through first?

• Industrialization path: from laboratory soft packaging to energy storage cabinets, low-speed vehicles, and backup power systems, when will the turning point come

This also coincides with the positioning of Yifu Intelligent New Industrial Park - not only making grinding and dispersing equipment, but entering the collaborative scene of "new energy materials-battery cell manufacturing-intelligent equipment".

In the golden autumn of November, Gucheng New Park, the door to sodium solid state will open

From interface modification in the laboratory, to electrolyte film formation on the pilot line, to equipment verification in Yifu Intelligent New Industrial Park - Professor Tang Yougen's more than 30 years of energy storage research accumulation is gradually transforming sodium solid state batteries from top-notch papers to process parameters that can be mass-produced on the production line. This time, he came to Gucheng with his systematic research and judgment on the sodium solid-state technology route, and met face-to-face with intelligent equipment engineers to discuss how material genes and manufacturing equipment can truly be coupled.

2026 New Energy and New Materials Industry Development Forum and Yifu Intelligent Hubei New Industrial Park Moving Celebration

Time: November 16-17, 2026｜Location: Gucheng, Xiangyang, Hubei, China

Speaker: Professor Tang Yougen (Second Professor of Central South University, Director of the Institute of Chemical Power Sources and Materials, President of the Hunan Battery Industry Association)

Speech Topic: Sodium Solid Exploration, New Energy Storage Field: Technology Research and Development and Path Exploration of Sodium Solid State Batteries

Host: Guangdong Yifu Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.

Co-organizer: Shanghai Nonferrous Metal Network

Co-organizer: Central South University

Supported by: Gucheng County People's Government