NIO, Sinopec ink agreement to co-develop battery swap business

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO and Sinopec, the Chinese state-owned oil producer, signed an agreement on April 15 for a strategic cooperation on the deployment of battery swapping stations.

Under the agreement, the duo will also carry out all-around collaboration on such spheres as new materials, smart electric vehicles, BaaS (Battery as a Service), vehicle procurement and the building of scenarios for recreation and consumption. NIO said they will leverage respective advantages to develop innovative cooperation models for both global energy and automobile industries.

NIO, Sinopec signing agreement; photo credit: NIO

Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of Sinopec, said the collaboration epitomizes the transition of global energy industry and signals the pursuit of the new energy vehicle era. Both parties will make joint contribution to peaking carbon dioxide emissions as scheduled and achieving carbon neutrality.

He added that the Sinopec is placing strong emphasis on the development of new businesses like battery swapping and high-power DC fast-charging facilities, planning to deploy 5,000 EV charging and battery swap stations during the 14th five-year plan period (2021—2025).

Meanwhile, NIO's first Power Swap Station 2.0 was officially launched at a service station of Sinopec in Beijing.

The startup unveiled its second-generation battery swapping station at the NIO Day in January. According to NIO, the station allows cars to perform automatic parking, the first-of-its-kind in the world. As a software-defined intelligent battery swapping system featuring device-cloud synergy, the Power Swap Station 2.0 is equipped with up to 239 sensors to make full use of visual identity technologies. Moreover, the station is capable of providing up to 312 battery swaps per day - three times more than the previous generation.