EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A partnership between Syntropic Power and UNIGRID targets 1 GWh of sodium chromium oxide battery storage deployments in 2027. The collaboration covers residential and grid-scale systems, U.S. module assembly and integration, while creating a pathway toward domestic NCO cell manufacturing.
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Syntropic Power, a U.S. energy storage company developing stationary battery systems, and UNIGRID Inc., a battery technology company focused on sodium-ion chemistry, have formed a partnership to commercialize sodium chromium oxide (NaCrO₂), or NCO, battery technology in North America. The collaboration also aims to establish a pathway for NCO cell manufacturing in the United States.
The companies plan to deploy 1 GWh of NCO-based energy storage in 2027. Initial commercialization will include Syntropic's Tenet™, a wall-mounted system designed for residential, light-commercial and virtual power plant applications, and GridSpan™, its modular DC platform for large-scale stationary storage. Syntropic will design, manufacture and deploy energy storage systems incorporating UNIGRID's NCO cells.
UNIGRID's NCO technology is a chromium-based sodium-ion chemistry that differs from sodium nickel iron manganese oxide (NFM) and sodium iron pyrophosphate (NFPP) chemistries. Syntropic commissioned the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Battery Development Center, an ISO 17025-accredited laboratory, to independently characterize UNIGRID's 70 Ah and 210 Ah NCO prismatic cells.
Initial RIT testing of the 210 Ah cells measured 216–218 Ah of discharge capacity against a 210 Ah nameplate rating and cell-level round-trip energy efficiency of at least 97.9%. Testing also recorded a 2.3% capacity reduction between C/10 and 1C rates. Separately, cycle-life testing reported by UNIGRID at full depth of discharge has exceeded 1,000 cycles with more than 99% of capacity retained.
According to Syntropic, the test results are being used to inform GridSpan's electrical architecture, operating controls and passive thermal-management design. The company is developing the platform to operate without mechanical cooling, including at grid-scale charge and discharge rates.
The NCO cells have passed UN 38.3 transport testing, completed cell-level UL 9540A testing and achieved IEC 62619 certification. The first shipment of UNIGRID cells has also been delivered to Syntropic for product development, testing and integration across its stationary energy storage portfolio.
Under the partnership, Syntropic will lead system development, certification, U.S. module assembly and integration. The companies are also working toward a pathway for Syntropic to manufacture NCO cells domestically, with a priority on establishing a supply chain aligned with U.S. foreign entity of concern (FEOC) requirements by the end of 2027. The partnership moves the NCO technology from cell-level validation toward broader commercial deployment across distributed and grid-scale stationary energy storage applications.