Nio Granted Patent for Cheaper Battery Swap Station After Seven-Year Wait
Electric vehicle maker Nio has secured a patent for a double-layer battery swap station, approved on Oct 15 by China's State Intellectual Property Office, after a seven-year wait.
The patent, initially filed on May 9, 2017, introduces a "stereoscopic battery swap garage and swap method," offering a new approach to reducing the construction costs associated with battery swap stations, as China's media outlet IT Home initially reported.
The double-layer design features a stereoscopic garage structure intended to lower the costs of building each battery swap station.
According to the patent abstract, the technology features a drive mechanism, movable parking bays, and a designated battery swap unit that enables vehicles to automatically position themselves in a target bay, where their energy storage modules can be efficiently replaced as needed.
"The method aims to solve the high construction cost associated with battery replacement stations. The detachable battery compartment includes a drive mechanism, with designated parking positions and a replacement unit set in a designated location," Nio says in the abstract.
Nio's fourth-generation battery swap station, which was unveiled in Dec 2023, allows the storage of more batteries in each station and a faster swapping process.
"The drive mechanism moves the vehicle to the target parking position, allowing the current battery to be replaced with a charged unit. This system enhances the quality of service by reducing the infrastructure costs of charging stations," the company added in the patent.
At the end of 2023, Nio operated 2,316 battery swap stations in China.
Since the start of this year, the company has added 286 stations as of Tue. Despite an anticipated year-end acceleration, Nio remains well short of the 1,000 new stations it pledged in Dec 2023 at its annual Nio Day event.
Of the 2,602 battery swap stations in China, 868 are located on highways. In addition to the battery swap stations, customers can also access one of the charging stations - Nio has 4,067 equipped with a total of 23,911 charging piles.
Nio is ramping up the upgrade of its third-generation battery swap stations and introducing new fourth-generation stations across China, Onvo's president Alan Ai said on Monday.
Due to technology limits, Onvo customers will only be able to use the fourth-generation stations with Nio currently upgrading third-generation ones to make them also compatible to Onvo vehicles.
"Onvo charging and swapping stations are being deployed at an accelerated pace, with 83 new Onvo L60 compatible stations added this week," Onvo's president Alan Ai wrote on social media platform on Mon.
"These include 18 new 4.0 battery swap stations, 53 upgraded 3.0 stations, 7 supercharging stations, and 5 regular charging stations. Let's power up together," the executive added.
Nio reached this week a total of 2,600 battery swap stations in China while cumulative battery swaps provided reached 56.4 million. In Europe, the company has 56 battery swap stations.
Disclaimer: Community is offered by Moomoo Technologies Inc. and is for educational purposes only.
Read more
Comment
Sign in to post a comment
bullrider_21
Moo Contributor
Follow me to get useful analysis, learn TA and make profitable trades.
Maximise profit 利润最大化
8937Followers
49Following
28KVisitors
Follow
bullrider_21 OP : This will reduce the construction costs of battery swap stations and Nio will be closer to profitabilty.
Dragon Fish bullrider_21 OP : Yeah. Garbage Bag Carrier still sleeping thought every Swap Station cost usd500k to USD700k. Not sure where he got the data.![[undefined]](https://static.moomoo.com/nnq/emoji/static/image/default/default-black.png?imageMogr2/thumbnail/36x36 "undefined")
![[undefined]](https://static.moomoo.com/nnq/emoji/static/image/default/default-black.png?imageMogr2/thumbnail/36x36 "undefined")
![[undefined]](https://static.moomoo.com/nnq/emoji/static/image/default/default-black.png?imageMogr2/thumbnail/36x36 "undefined")
Dragon Fish : NIO's 4th-generation battery swap stations, which launched in early 2024, are advanced facilities capable of supporting multiple battery sizes and accommodating 23 battery packs, enabling up to 480 swaps per day. This generation improves efficiency with six LiDAR sensors and four Nvidia Orin X chips, allowing for faster and more seamless swaps. Each station costs around $107,000 to $120,000 for installation, though exact figures can vary depending on additional features like photovoltaic systems that provide energy savings by generating up to 18,000 kWh annually. This setup is a part of NIO’s commitment to a more sustainable and extensive charging network across China and other regions by the end of 2024.