NIO Inc. And Chinese Energy Giant Sinopec Sign Strategic Partnership Agreement

NIO and the energy giant Sinopec have announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement. The two companies will cooperate in new materials, smart EV tech., Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS), vehicle purchasing, and recreational facility constructions to further leverage their advantages in building an innovative collaboration model between the global energy and automotive industries.

The partnership is aimed at helping ‘achieve peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, a key step in developing global, green, and innovative transportation initiatives and innovations’.

They have also unveiled the NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 at Sinopec’s Chaoying Station in Beijing. This is NIO’s inaugural second-generation battery swap station and also the first under the NIO-Sinopec partnership, representing the rollout of NIO Power Swap Station 2.0. 

NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 is the world’s first mass-produced battery swap station that allows the vehicle to maneuver into the station automatically. Each NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 has 239 sensors and four collaborating cloud computing systems that maximize the application of visual recognition technologies.

Station users can complete a self-service battery swap with only one click while staying in the car. The system is capable of completing up to 312 battery swaps per day, significantly improving swapping efficiency.

William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, says: ‘NIO and Sinopec’s collaboration will efficiently consolidate their resources and bring a better charging and swapping experience to EV users. Sinopec’s determination to invest in green energy service will encourage more people to adopt new energy vehicles’.

Yuzhuo Zhang, Sinopec’s Chairman and Secretary of the Leading Party Member Group, adds: ‘Sinopec is accelerating its transformation from traditional petroleum product sales to an integrated energy service provider of oil, gas, hydrogen, electricity, and non-oil businesses, focusing on developing new dimensions such as battery swapping high-power DC fast charging. Over the next few years, Sinopec plans to deploy 5,000 battery charging and swapping stations. The partnership with NIO will enable both to leverage their advantages, deepen the collaboration in a broader scope, and ultimately achieve more significant results, promoting a high-quality economic and social development and a higher quality of life for all’.

NIO opened its first battery swap station in Nanshan High Tech Industrial Park, in the city of Shenzhen.