NIO opens its 50th battery swapping station in Europe

Chinese premium EV maker NIO has opened the 50th Power Swap Station on the Old Continent in Norway, where it started in 2022 its European journey. With those in homeland China, NIO manages 2.493 swapping stations over six markets.

For NIO, battery swapping is a USP as it is the only one offering that possibility in Europe today. EV drivers can replace an empty battery pack in a fully automated station in under three minutes.

The latest Power Swap Stations in Europe, like the one in Bryn, just outside Oslo, can store up to 21 battery packs and do 408 swaps daily. These stations are produced since 2022 in a brand-new factory in Biatorbágy, Hungary.

No more range anxiety

With a network of swapping stations for those with range anxiety and lacking the patience to fast-charging for twenty to thirty minutes, long EV voyages become possible with ‘fueling stops’ that take less time than filling up a gasoline tank.

NIO points at the 1,323 km of the Canals and Castles route from Rotterdam to Munich, for example, or the 1,227 km of the Scandinavian Shores trip along breathtaking coastlines.

Battery-as-a-Service

A huge advantage of swappable batteries is the time gain, and the possibility of renting the battery, with the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) offered. That lowers the car’s purchase price considerably, and you’re always sure of having a top-performing battery, as they are checked with each swap.

As all NIO cars have swappable batteries and can use 75 kWh, 100 kWh, and even 150 kWh, if the service is offered, you can choose a ‘short range’ battery for everyday use or a long range version if you need to travel far on vacation.

No depreciation

The advantage is that there is no battery depreciation for the car’s resale value. And for the batteries themselves, as they can be charged slowly in the swapping stations, longer life is guaranteed than with regular fast charging. Slow charging also lowers the price of the electricity needed.

While stored in their bays, the batteries in the Power Swap Stations offer a huge backup buffer for stabilizing the grid when demand is high, and wind and solar power are low.

Fast charging up to 640 kW

NIO also offers fast charging up to 500 kW in Europe. In addition to the markets in which NIO operates, the charging network includes charging points in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. NIO users have access to more than 600,000 charging points across Europe’s main operators.

By the way, Nio just showed its latest innovation, a 640kW Liquid-Cooled Power Charger boasting a maximum current of 765A and a voltage of 1,000V. The company claims that the liquid-cooled charging cable developed by Nio only weighs 2.4kg, comparable to a laptop and friendly to one-hand operation.

4th generation swapping stations

In June, NIO had the first Power Swap Stations of the fourth generation operational in China. One can accommodate 23 batteries and offer 480 swaps daily, taking 144 seconds or just under two minutes and a half each.

The station itself is a high-tech robot resembling a car wash tunnel. It has six ultrawide-FOV LiDARs and four Orin X chips, realizing a total computing power of 1,016TOPS.

The car is directed fully automatically into the station, where a robot unscrews the 500 kg heavy battery, slides in a fully charged one, and stores the depleted battery for charging. Users can start an automatic battery swap with just one tap on the center display or even without being in the car.

Supporting swapping for multiple brands

The fourth generation supports automated battery swaps for multiple brands and different vehicle models like Nio’s new ‘budget’ Onvo brand. And all battery swap strategic partners it could sign up so far, like Volvo-Polestar and Zeekr’s parent company Geely or Changan Auto.