October 7, 2025 — MIT Technology Review has officially released its 2025 list of “10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch,” with HiNa Battery earning a spot for its pioneering exploration and innovation in sodium-ion battery technology. Only two Chinese companies were selected for this year’s list, highlighting China’s growing influence in climate technology innovation.

MIT Technology Review launched its “Climate Tech Companies to Watch” list in 2023 to identify innovators with the potential to shape the future of climate solutions. This year’s list features companies from around the world that are developing or scaling critical technologies to address climate change. The cohort ranges from early-stage startups to established industry giants valued in the tens of billions of dollars. Regardless of size, they share three key attributes: strong technological foundations, clear pathways to real-world implementation, and sustainable potential for scaling. Their technologies span electric mobility, renewable energy, carbon capture materials, and beyond—each contributing uniquely to the global energy transition and emissions reduction efforts.

Notably, the 2025 list has been narrowed from 15 to 10 companies, reflecting a shift from broad exploration toward deeper, higher-quality innovation in the climate tech sector.

In its assessment, MIT Technology Review highlighted the looming surge in global battery demand over the coming decades. Most batteries today rely on lithium, a resource facing significant supply chain concentration and “super-inflationary” risks. According to the International Energy Agency, 85% of the world’s lithium refining capacity by 2030 will be concentrated in just three countries: China, Chile, and Argentina. Sodium-ion battery technology offers a transformative alternative. Sodium is about 400 times more abundant in the Earth's crust than lithium, widely accessible from seawater or salt mines, and can be extracted using mature and sustainable processes. While lithium-ion batteries have dominated the market in recent decades, HiNa Battery is leading sodium batteries back to the center of the energy stage—and successfully scaling their application.

Original article: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/10/06/1124257/2025-climate-tech-companies-to-watch/