Nio, the Chinese automotive company most known for its battery swapping solution, Battery as a Service (BaaS), has received the first delivery of 360 Wh/kg lithium-ion cells from Beijing-based WeLion New Energy Technology.
This marks the end of a two-year development project based on joint-team efforts between Nio and WeLion.
The project was launched in January 2021, when Nio unveiled the plans to develop a 150 kWh semi-solid-state battery for the flagship model, Nio ET7. The delivery schedule has been delayed several times, but on 30 June the first batch finally arrived at Nio headquarters in Huzhou in the Zhejiang province, close to Shanghai. The battery had also been produced in Huzhou, at the brand new WeLion plant. It also houses a research and development centre.
One great advantage with the new battery is that the total weight of the battery pack will increase only by 20 kg. Nio said its new model, Nio ES6, can run up to 930 km on a single charging sequence.
After the ceremonial delivery, Xiang Jin, Executive Vice President of WeLion, and Zeng Shuxiang, Senior Vice President of Nio, signed an annual order deal. The volume of deliveries is under wraps, but both parties express that this is a substantial step for the new semi-solid-state technology. They said the new batteries could reduce the costs of high performance EVs.
WeLion is one of the forerunners in the hunt to produce batteries allowing EVs to reach the 1,000 km range. Among the investors, WeLion lists mobile phone companies Huawei and Xiaomi and the private equity company Shunwei Capital. Nio is also a major shareholder of WeLion.
Nio is founded by William Li and recently received a $700 million investment from a fund owned by the Abu Dhabi government, corresponding to a 7% stake. Other major owners are Originalwish, controlled by Li, Tencent Holdings and Blackrock.
