What is a NIO Power Swap Station?

31 COLUMN What is a NIO Power Swap Station and how does it work?

Gert-Jan Geerinckx, head of power for EV manufacturer NIO in Germany, gives us insight to NIO’s battery swapping technology, which has become an integral part of the brand’s user experience in response to the key challenges that EV owners face.

For NIO, battery swapping is a game-changing solution that addresses the cost, range and durability of EV batteries, providing benefits to users from the moment they first drive their NIO vehicle to the moment they sell it. With ambitious targets for NIO’s rollout in place and our Battery as a Service (BaaS) subscription model set to launch in several key markets in 2022, NIO Power Swap Stations will become more visible to consumers over the next few years. One of the major gripes prospective EV owners have is the amount of time it takes to recharge an EV, either at home or while on a lengthy journey, and the Power Swap Station eliminates this. Especially as EV adoption increases, not everyone will have access to residential or public charging. Here a battery swap offers an experience similar to refuelling a gas-powered vehicle, but without the hassle of paying for petrol or getting fuel on your shoes. Users drive the vehicle into a pre-marked bay in front of the Power Swap Station and then the vehicle takes over, autonomously positioning itself precisely inside the swap bay. Once in place, a mechanical platform lifts the vehicle, allowing the battery swapping process to get underway. A laser-guided mechanism removes the ten screws that hold the current battery in place. The depleted battery is lowered away from the car and moved aside while a fresh battery – charged to 90 per cent for longevity – comes out of what we call the ‘battery hotel’. This is then positioned under the car and screwed into place. Once the new battery is installed, the car powers back up and the user can drive out of the Power Swap Station and continue their journey. From start to finish, the entire process takes about five minutes: the same time it takes to fuel a conventional combustion car. Better still, it’s a flexible service, as users don’t need to plan for a swap far in advance. Drivers can check the availability of batteries at Power Swap Stations while on a journey and book themselves in moments before arriving. In China, NIO is offering batteries of different capacities, so users can also upgrade or downgrade the battery capacity – either 75 kWh, 100 kWh, or soon we will release a 150 kWh battery for 1,000 km journeys – depending on their usage needs. Looking ahead, not only is there a clear convenience factor at play, as the combination of recharging at home and swapping allows NIO customers to tackle any length of journey and situation with confidence, it also protects the residual value of NIO models. Users are always sure to have a healthy battery and the opportunity to upgrade when new technology arrives. Battery swapping forms a key part of NIO’s BaaS subscription model. At its core, BaaS allows NIO users to switch batteries on demand, either to quickly recharge their vehicle or upgrade to a unit with a greater range ahead of a long journey. It also allows NIO to sell cars without a battery, lowering the price point of its models, and instead offer users a subscription to the battery that best suits them. To date, over seven million battery swaps have been completed, the majority of which have occurred in China. However, NIO is expanding to Europe as we speak and is beginning to offer users swapping and BaaS. In Norway – the first country to accommodate Power Swap Stations in Europe – 600 swaps have been completed since January. NIO’s goal is for 1,000 Power Swap Stations to be active outside of China by 2025. By then, the target is to have 4,000 swap stations in use worldwide, with battery swapping becoming a common practice among its EV users alongside typical charging solutions. Listen to Gert-Jan Geerinckx’s episode of the Everything EV Podcast by scanning this QR code!