NIO

Chinese automotive company to use solid-state battery with a capacity of 150 kWh and a range of 1,000 km later this year

While partners of Japanese and European automakers promise to dominate the production of solid-state electrolyte traction batteries closer to the middle of the decade, the Chinese company NIO announces its readiness to start supplying its electric vehicles with them from the end of this year. An ET7 electric car, for example, when using a solid-state battery with a capacity of 150 kWh, will increase the range beyond 1,000 km.

The relevant intentions of the Chinese automaker are disclosed by the local media, citing company representatives. According to sources, in the fourth quarter of this year, NIO will already have batteries with a capacity of 150 kWh and a charge storage density of 360 Wh/kg, which is more than double the performance of the same Tesla Model 3 Long Range. Recall that Elon Musk himself is skeptical of the idea of ​​producing electric vehicles with a power reserve of more than 600 km, because he is convinced that after overcoming this distance, people will inevitably want to rest, and the break can be used to quickly recharge the traction battery.

If you equip existing NIO electric vehicles with a battery with the specified characteristics, the ES8 will be able to travel up to 850 km on a single charge according to the NEDC cycle, the ES6 model will overcome up to 900 km on a single charge, and the ET7 sedan can travel more than 1,000 km. The advantage of NIO products is that the machines are equipped with replaceable batteries. This means that even operating electric vehicles can be converted to use larger capacity batteries. At the same time, there is no special need to pay the full cost of the battery each time – NIO provides traction batteries for rent on a subscription basis. The company also builds express battery change stations that allow the car owner to exchange a dead battery for a fully charged one in just a few minutes.

Beijing-based WeLion New Energy Technology is likely to supply solid-state electrolyte-based NIO batteries. It is reported that the anode composition of these batteries will use a combination of carbon and silicon, and the cathode composition predicts a higher nickel content. The solid state electrolyte, in turn, will increase the speed of express charging and increase the fire safety of the battery, not to mention increased range.

Image source: NIO