The Chinese company specialized in manufacturing electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, NIO, held its “Power Day” event, offering information on projects and technological advances in electromobility.
At the meeting, now in its second edition, the company unveiled the new ultra-fast chargers with the capacity to reach power levels of up to 500 kW.
NIO detailed that this innovation will soon be available in both China and Europe. The maximum current the devices can handle is 650 amps, resulting in one of the fastest recharging speeds in the industry, above that of its competitors.
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Through its Nio Power division, the company provides Internet-based power solutions, including charging and battery swapping facilities. Under this service, they offer home chargers, fast DC public chargers capable of charging up to 180 kilowatts and 250 amps, and battery swaps that could be completed in just three minutes.
Upcoming Models and Upgrades
Despite the great optimism following the announcement, NIO’s electric cars so far only support a limit of 90 kW of charging power, so either the new stations will only be of real benefit to its next models or the current ones will need to be upgraded.
To pair its cars with this technology, the brand plans to launch a new 150 kWh capacity solid electrolyte lithium battery pack, which could be the first to support this charging power.
Likewise, NIO also recently announced that from 2024 it will start manufacturing its own 800-volt batteries, probably still with liquid electrolyte, but which should allow much higher charging speeds than those currently fitted in its electric cars.
Short- and medium-term plans
NIO also took advantage of its annual event to report on goals it has on the agenda for the coming years. By 2025, in China, they will have a battery exchange network arranged in a square grid that will cover nine highways vertically and another nine horizontally. In addition, it will also serve 19 urban areas.
That year, more than 90 percent of NIO’s customers will have at least one battery exchange station within a 3-kilometer radius of their home.
Additionally, NIO plans to have more than 4,000 battery swap stations worldwide by 2025, of which 1,000 will be located outside China.
