Advanced Sodium-ion Battery Production in California
Summary
SCH Number
2025051127
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
Advanced Sodium-ion Battery Production in California
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/23/2025
Document Description
The purpose of this Agreement is to fund the design, build-out, and validation of a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) line to manufacture advanced Sodium-ion Batteries (NIB) featuring greater specific energy density than commercially available NIBs and anodes that do not solely contain hard carbon ("alternative anode"). The recipient's sodium-ion battery is a viable candidate for residential energy storage applications due to the superior safety properties, excellent energy density and lower cost compared to lithium-ion batteries due to the use of abundant sodium-based materials.
Contact Information
Name
Kaitlin Choo
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
Associate Energy Specialist
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Address
Phone
Name
Erik Wu
Agency Name
UNIGRID Inc.
Job Title
Project Manager
Contact Types
Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
San Diego
Counties
San Diego
Regions
Citywide
Cross Streets
Mesa Rim Rd. and Flanders Dr.
Zip
92121
Other Location Info
10140 Mesa Rim Rd Unit 4
San Diego, CA 92121
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15301
Reasons for Exemption
California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15301 provides that projects which consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, and which have negligible or no expansion of existing or former use, are categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This project involves the design, build-out, and validation of a battery manufacturing line at an existing facility. The project involves the operation of the recipient's existing structures and mechanical equipment. The project will not involve any new construction or modification of existing facilities. Therefore, this project is exempt from the provisions of CEQA under section 15301.
This project does not involve impacts on any particularly sensitive environment; does not involve any cumulative impacts of successive projects of the same type in the same place that might be considered significant; does not involve unusual circumstances that might have a significant effect on the environment; will not result in damage to scenic resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway; the project site is not included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Code section 65962.5; and the project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Therefore, none of the exceptions to categorical exemptions listed in CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 apply.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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