The charging time of electric cars remains a barrier for some drivers. It is still impossible to charge a car as quickly as filling it with gas. Well, almost: in Belgium, Nio is starting to deploy battery exchange stations allowing a car to “recharge” in three minutes.
Many motorists are still putting off purchasing an electric car for fear of waiting times at charging stations. Most of the time, it takes less than 30 minutes for a quick charge from 10 to 80%, although some Chinese cars (like the Zeekr 001 or Li Auto Mega) only take 10 minutes. But this could soon accelerate: Nio is launching the deployment of battery exchange stations in Belgium.
Soon battery exchange stations all over Europe?
While we had already been able to test the battery change in a Nio Power Swap Station in Germany, during our test of the Nio ET7 – an electric sedan promising more than 1,000 km of autonomy – the Chinese manufacturer continues to develop its network of exchange stations as this tweet proves.
It is now in Belgium that the first station is being created. In Edegem, south of Antwerp, Nio is building the first station on Belgian territory.
This investment is part of the objective of reaching 4,000 battery exchange stations worldwide by 2025, including 500 in Europe and 500 in the United States.
To use these battery swap stations, you must own a compatible Nio car. Then, the operation is very simple: instead of recharging your battery by staying stationary and wasting time, the exchange station has several identical batteries, charged to 90%.
When your battery gets low, the idea is to park at a swap station and let the machine replace the battery in the floor with a charged one.
You must first reserve your place in the nearest station from the car’s central screen. The robot then unscrews your battery to replace it in less than 3 minutes.
Only for standardized batteries
But don’t expect to arrive with your Tesla Model Y, Renault 5 E-Tech, Peugeot e-208 or Porsche Taycan to take advantage of this system.
Unfortunately, in order to work, Nio had to standardize battery sizes across its different models and capacities. Only the Nio ET7, ET5, EL7, ES6 and ES8 can benefit from it.
You have the choice of battery
We dream of an agreement between manufacturers to standardize battery formats, but this seems unrealistic even if Nio is working on the subject.
What’s interesting is that you don’t have to install the same battery capacity on your vehicle. If, after a long journey, you no longer need the large 100 kWh battery, you can choose the 75 kWh one, leaving a 100 kWh battery available for another motorist. However, this means that you do not own the battery, but simply rent it.
In addition, you theoretically have a battery that is always up to date. If a new technology improves battery capacity, you can install it on your car as soon as it is available at the nearest station.
However, for this model to be viable, Nio must make considerable investments, first to establish the stations, then to equip them with sufficient batteries. It is also questionable whether large capacity batteries are likely to become in high demand, making it difficult to obtain one for long journeys.
For the moment, Nio is not marketing its electric cars in France, but that won’t be long. Its Onvo brand of more affordable car could soon arrive in France, with the Onvo L60.
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