"Charging Alone is not Enough" - How NIO is Empowering Users - Saurabh Bhatnagar, Chief Business Officer, NIO US

NIO offers multiple ways for its vehicles to be powered and charged. In a recent Reuters event, 'Plugged in Strategies for Scaling Up EV Charging Infrastructure', Saurabh Bhatnagar, Chief Business Officer NIO US, explained the unique ways NIO's upgradeable battery packs and battery swapping can help communities energize electrification, electric vehicles and support the grid.

 Bhatnagar is responsible for NIO's go-to market in the US. His previous initiatives at NIO included globalization strategy and market development, strategic partnering/investments with a focus on autonomous driving and connected smart vehicle technologies.

What is Special About NIO Experiences?

"At NIO, we are obsessed with our users' experience. So, everything we do with products or services, our communities, we think about them in terms of how they improve the user experience and the lives of our users," says Bhatnagar.

A huge innovation in power is the swappable battery architecture of NIO vehicles and NIO's Power Swap Stations that enable NIO vehicle battery packs to be chargeable, swappable and upgradable, he says.

"It is a fantastic experience for our users," adds Bhatnagar.

NIO's approach helps reduce charge time waiting and range anxiety.

Some users are still hesitant when about the refuelling process for EVs. It is understandable because users are accustomed to and conditioned to gas refuelling where the time is predictable and finite, less than five minutes, on average.

Refuelling remains a consideration for EV users. Charging networks are still developing charging experiences that are variable from network to network, even within a network. Charging takes way more time than a gas refill, he says.

People still tend to be worried about battery life and degradation at some levels, he adds.

"At NIO, we believe that for EV refuelling, charging alone is not enough. That is why we have a multi-pronged approach which we call 'chargeable, swappable and upgradeable." 

Innovations from NIO include a 500 Volt supercharger, swappable battery architecture and robotic swap stations that swap out the batteries.

How Does NIO Battery Swapping Work?

The process of swapping out a NIO battery happens at NIO Power Swap Stations about the size of three parking spaces.

When the user arrives at a NIO Power Swap Station. They park in a designated spot. The car digitally pairs with the station. The car is autonomously driven and reversed into the station and positioned. Then a robotic arm comes in under the car and uncouples mechanically and electronically the battery pack from the car and removes it. Then puts it in one of the shells in the bank of batteries housed in the Power Swap Station.

The robot takes a fully charged battery and reattaches it to the car. When this process is over, the system checks the car and informs the user through the car console that the car is ready to be driven away.

"This happens in less than three minutes. The user does not even need to get out of the car," explains Bhatnagar.

NIO has about 1350 Power Swap Stations globally and is targeting to have that number up to 2300 by the end of this year. NIO has completed over 20 million swaps. NIO averages about 50,000 swaps a day, he says.

What Else Can NIO Power Swap Stations Do?

If a user is planning a long trip, they can swap a 75-kilowatt battery with a 100-kilowatt battery when needed, adds Bhatnagar.

This Power Swap Station has over twenty batteries that can act as energy storage infrastructure and communicate with utilities. It opens up possibilities for providing grid services to utilities.

"Recently, we have commercialized a grid service operation using a NIO Power Swap Station in the Netherlands."

He notes that the batteries can be charged during off-peak hours and return and energy to the grid.

Although NIO provides its own infrastructure, charging and battery swapping, Bhatnagar hopes public charging becomes more accessible.

"Vehicle-to-charge communications are still not standardized. Standardizing on something like the ISO 15118 would benefit the users and the industry at large and harmonize across different sub-segments of the industry as well," says Bhatnagar.