Salt batteries manage without lithium and are considered very safe – but in 2026 their market is small: The best-known Swiss salt home battery is no longer available since the insolvency of its provider in 2024. We therefore recommend LFP battery storage from established manufacturers with a long guarantee today – cobalt-free, thermally stable and with secured service. (As of: September 2026)
Key points in brief
- Saltwater battery storages work without lithium, without cobalt and without flammable electrolytes.
- Their strengths: practically no fire risk, uncritical materials, good recyclability.
- Their weaknesses: lower energy density – more space and weight for the same capacity – and a small market.
- For the typical single-family home, lithium (especially LFP) remains the standard; saltwater is the conscious alternative.
- Since the insolvency of the best-known Swiss provider (2024), we recommend LFP battery storage from established manufacturers with at least a 10-year guarantee.
What is a saltwater battery storage – and what makes it different?
A battery storage whose cell chemistry manages without lithium: A saltwater-based solution serves as the electrolyte, the electrodes consist of uncritical materials. This makes it fundamentally different from the lithium systems that dominate the home battery market and whose variants are classified in the article LFP vs. NMC.
The consequences of this chemistry are the actual selling point: The electrolyte is non-flammable and non-toxic. Thermal runaway, as is possible with lithium cells under unfortunate circumstances, is in principle unknown to the system. The material question also relaxes – no cobalt, no lithium, instead widely available raw materials that can be comparatively easily utilised at the end of their life.
The name «Alternative from Switzerland» has a real background, by the way: The technology was driven forward and marketed by Swiss providers, among others. That doesn't automatically make it better – but it explains why the question about it regularly crops up in consultation discussions in this country.
Where are the limits of the technology?
In space requirements and in the market – and both belong honestly on the table.
Energy density. Saltwater cells store significantly less energy per kilogramme and per litre than lithium cells. The same usable capacity therefore needs noticeably more space and weight. Where a lithium battery storage hangs as a compact wall box, the saltwater battery storage stands as a cupboard – the installation location needs to be planned accordingly, including the load-bearing capacity of the floor.
Performance characteristics. The systems are designed more for leisurely, steady charging and discharging than for high peak performances. For the classic daily cycle in the single-family home – charging at midday, discharging in the evening – this basically fits; anyone who expects high discharge performances must look closely at the system data.
The market. Lithium dominates, and that has consequences: fewer providers, smaller quantities, fewer installers with experience, and the long-term supply of spare parts and service depends on a manageable circle of providers. That is not an exclusion criterion – but a test point that has more weight with a niche product than with the mass standard. Just how small the niche is is shown by the Swissolar Battery Monitor 2026: Salt batteries accounted for around 1.2 percent of newly installed stationary batteries in Switzerland in 2024, slightly more than in the previous year (As of: September 2026).
| Lithium (LFP) | Saltwater | |
|---|---|---|
| Fire risk | low, but present | practically none |
| Materials | Lithium, less critical than NMC | widely available, non-toxic |
| Space/weight per kWh | compact | significantly more |
| Market position | Standard | Niche |
| Typical choice | Price-performance, compactness | Safety & ecology as priority |
Simplified comparison, As of: July 2026. The data sheets of the specific systems are decisive.
Salt battery 2026: What is really deliverable today?
Under «salt battery», three different technologies are sold – and their market situation is very different in 2026.
| Saltwater (aqueous electrolyte) | Sodium-nickel chloride («high-temperature salt battery») | Sodium-ion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principle | Salt solution as electrolyte | molten salt, cell operates at around 250 °C | like lithium-ion, but with sodium instead of lithium |
| Home batteries in Switzerland | practically no longer available | Cells continue to be manufactured in Ticino, a Swiss home battery provider has been missing since 2024 | first systems available, young providers |
| Efficiency | low | around 71 % in the laboratory test (internal heating) | Manufacturer specifications up to 96 %, long-term data are still missing |
| Guarantee & service | – | no longer secured for the best-known system since the insolvency in 2024 | Guarantees mostly shorter than with LFP, service network under construction |
As of: September 2026. Laboratory value: HTW Berlin, Energy efficiency of alternative battery storage systems (2023). The data sheets of the specific systems are decisive.
Why we recommend LFP instead of salt today
With the insolvency of innovenergy in September 2024, the best-known Swiss salt home battery, the salidomo, has disappeared from the market. Since then, we no longer offer this system. We also hear time and again from owners of such batteries how difficult service and spare parts have become – for example in the event of faults in the cell heating, which can only be rectified at the manufacturer's plant.
For us this shows: A guarantee is only worth as much as the manufacturer who will still redeem it in ten years. Therefore, we recommend battery storages with LFP cells (lithium iron phosphate) today. They manage without cobalt, are considered thermally particularly stable and come from manufacturers that are large enough to bear their guarantee in the long term.
What we look out for in a battery storage – independent of the manufacturer:
- Manufacturers with substance and Swiss representation: Service and spare parts must still be available in ten years.
- LFP cell chemistry: without cobalt, thermally stable, many cycles.
- Official approval for the inverter: The battery storage is on the compatibility list of the inverter manufacturer.
- Written guarantee of at least 10 years with guaranteed remaining capacity.
- Tested safety standards for stationary batteries, including IEC 62619.
Examples that fulfil these points (manufacturer specifications, as of September 2026, in no order):
| Speicher | Guarantee according to the manufacturer | suits |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei LUNA2000 | 15 years according to guarantee conditions | Huawei inverters |
| BYD Battery-Box Premium | 10-year product guarantee | Fronius, Kostal, SMA, SolarEdge (compatibility list) |
| Fronius Reserva | 10 years, at least 80 % capacity | Fronius GEN24 Plus |
| Fenecon Home | 10 years product, 12 years capacity | FENECON complete system |
What a battery storage costs and what size makes sense is shown in the articles Battery storage costs and How large should the battery storage be?.
You want to build consistently without lithium?
There are good reasons for this – some municipalities even only provide incentives for lithium-free batteries (in Küsnacht for instance saltwater batteries with CHF 300 per kWh, but not lithium). Speak to us: We will show you which lithium-free systems are currently available and will check the guarantee, service and the stability of the provider in writing in advance. We are constantly monitoring the market for sodium-ion batteries. As soon as a system with a robust guarantee and secured service is available in Switzerland, we will permanently add it to our range.
Unsicher, ob Salz oder LFP zu Ihrem Haus passt? Wir prüfen Ihre Situation herstellerunabhängig und unverbindlich und sagen Ihnen ehrlich, welcher Speicher sinnvoll ist. Kostenlose Beratung anfragen oder direkt per WhatsApp schreiben:
For whom is the saltwater alternative worthwhile?
For customers with clear priorities – and honest advice begins with the question of what these are.
Anyone who wants maximum safety – for example because the battery storage is in a sensitive building, a wooden structure or close to bedrooms – finds a strong argument in the non-flammable system. The safety discussion around lithium batteries is indeed more differentiated than headlines suggest, as the article on battery safety shows; but «in principle non-flammable» is once again a different category than «safe with professional installation».
Anyone who thinks ecology consistently – uncritical raw materials, simple recycling – gets the most consistent package here. And anyone who simply has space in the cellar and is not bothered by the larger design, gives up one of the main disadvantages.
What this looks like in practice is shown by our reference in Küsnacht ZH: 24.71 kWp on the south roof, plus a salt battery storage with around 18 kWh in the plant room, with emergency power capability and in operation since May 2023. There, exactly this combination of safety and uncritical materials was the deciding factor.
Conversely: Anyone looking for the most compact solution, the broadest field of providers and the best price-performance ratio lands at the lithium standard – this is also where the general battery storage advice in the large guide leads. In the end, the saltwater question is a question of priorities, not a technological religion. It is professional to lay out both paths side-by-side with their consequences.
salidomo defective? These paths exist today
Since the insolvency of innovenergy (2024), we've been receiving enquiries from salidomo owners whose storage system is reporting faults – typically in the cell heating or battery management – and who can no longer find a contact. These are the options:
- Switching to an LFP storage system (our recommendation): The salt battery is replaced with an LFP storage system from an established manufacturer, either with a new hybrid inverter or AC-coupled, depending on the existing electronics. The solar system keeps running, and the emergency power function can usually be set up again.
- Sodium-ion retrofit kit: A Swiss provider replaces the high-temperature modules with sodium-ion modules. We don't yet have long-term experience with this option.
- Original modules: The sodium-nickel-chloride cells are still manufactured in Tessin. Whether a replacement is available and worthwhile in your specific case is something we assess on site.
We take a look at your system and lay out the options side by side with their costs.
The question about salt storage comes to us in two forms: as a safety question («I don't want anything flammable in the house») and as an eco question («can't this be done without lithium?»). We take both seriously. Today, our answer is usually an LFP storage system from an established manufacturer: cobalt-free, thermally stable, with a long warranty and a service that will still be reachable in ten years. Anyone who explicitly wants to build without lithium gets from us the systems currently available, with an honest assessment of the warranty and service situation – so the decision is based on facts, not gut feeling.
Frequently asked questions
Is a saltwater battery really non-flammable?
The saltwater-based electrolyte is non-flammable – so the fire risk inherent to the cell chemistry is practically eliminated. Like any electrical device, this storage system also has electronics and wiring that need to be installed professionally. But the battery itself is in a different safety category from lithium systems.
Does a saltwater battery last as long as a lithium battery?
The systems are designed for many years and cycles; the specific figures are in the manufacturer's datasheet and warranty. With a niche product, more important than the chemistry comparison is the question of how long the provider, service and spare parts remain available – that belongs in the purchase assessment.
Why has saltwater remained a niche despite its advantages?
Because the mass market rewards compactness and price – and lithium has pulled ahead there thanks to huge production volumes. For many buyers, saltwater's strengths (safety, materials) weigh less heavily than space requirements and price. That could shift, but it's the current state of the market.
Can I combine a saltwater battery with any solar system?
In principle, yes – like other systems, the storage unit is integrated on the AC side or via compatible inverters. What matters is that the specialist company knows the specific system and checks its compatibility with your installation. With niche products, this check is more important than with standard ones.
Which manufacturers make salt batteries in Switzerland?
The high-temperature sodium-nickel-chloride cells are manufactured in Tessin (today HORIEN Salt Battery Solutions, Stabio, formerly FZSoNick). The best-known home battery using them, the salidomo from innovenergy, has been unavailable since the 2024 insolvency. Alongside that, the first sodium-ion home batteries from young providers are coming onto the market. For most homes, we now recommend LFP storage systems from established manufacturers.
Can I have a salt battery installed by ecoEn?
The salidomo, which we installed in Küsnacht ZH among other places (reference), we no longer offer since the system provider's insolvency in 2024. For new installations, we recommend LFP storage systems from established manufacturers, selected independently of the manufacturer. For anyone who explicitly wants to build lithium-free, we show the systems currently available – with a written check of warranty and service beforehand. You'll find a starting point on our Battery storage page.
Is a salt battery better than a lithium battery?
Not as a blanket rule. Salt batteries don't need lithium; but the high-temperature variant loses a noticeable amount of energy through its heating, and the pool of providers is small across all salt technologies. LFP storage systems are also cobalt-free, thermally stable and usually come with longer warranties from large manufacturers. For most single-family homes, LFP is now the safer choice.
My salidomo is faulty – what can I do?
The cell heating can only be repaired at the manufacturer's plant, and the original service has been unavailable since 2024. Switching to an LFP storage system is usually the sensible option; alongside that, there are sodium-ion retrofit kits and – if available – original modules from Tessin. We assess your system on site and lay out the options side by side with their costs.
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Salt storage, LFP, or a replacement for your salidomo?
We'll tell you honestly which storage system suits your home – with warranty, service and specific costs.
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Swissolar-certified specialist company · ESTI installation authorisation (Art. 14 NIV) · in Zurich since 2017 · over 150 systems completed · a personal answer from the specialist company, no call centre
Sources: Swissolar, Batteriemonitor Schweiz 2026 (technology shares, cell manufacturing in Tessin); HTW Berlin, Energieeffizienz alternativer Batteriespeichersysteme (2023); commercial register (innovenergy AG in liquidation); Küsnacht municipal incentive regulations 2026–2029; manufacturer datasheets for Huawei, BYD, Fronius, Fenecon and sodium-ion providers; experience from ecoEn GmbH's advisory practice, Zurich region. As of: September 2026.
Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Author: ecoEn editorial team
