On February 25, according to the information displayed on the Shanghai enterprise and institution environmental information disclosure platform, NIO will establish a new battery R&D project in Anting Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, with a planned investment of 219 million yuan.
The project information disclosed includes:
-
The planned investment for the project is 219 million yuan;
-
The project will be located in Anting Town, Jiading District, Shanghai, with a total leased floor area of 22,090.02 square meters;
-
31 R&D laboratories will be established to conduct R&D on lithium-ion battery cells and battery packs;
-
1 lithium-ion battery cell trial production line and 1 battery pack line will be built;
-
The new project will start construction in August-October this year and is expected to engage in R&D for about 250 days per year;
Based on the project construction schedule, the project can be ready for mass production as early as the third quarter of 2023.
The construction of the project trial production line aims to explore the possibility of large-scale production in the future and the trial samples will be used for further development.
NIO Has Already Deeply Engaged in the Battery Field
In fact, NIO has already deeply engaged in the battery field.
- In 2018, NIO built a business model with battery swapping and battery rental at its core through its first model, ES8;
- In August 2020, NIO launched the BaaS (Battery as a Service) service (battery rental solution), established Wuhan NIO, and introduced Ningde Times and other companies to invest;
-
In September 2021, NIO launched three-element lithium iron phosphate battery packs (75 kWh) and became the world’s first automaker to mass-produce this technology;
-
In February 2022, Weirui Investment, a subsidiary of NIO Capital, led the investment with 250 million yuan and a 2% stake, in Xintdada Battery, and deployed the field of solid-state batteries ahead of schedule.
- The hybrid solid-liquid electrolyte battery project, jointly developed by NIO and Weilan New Energy, with a capacity of 150 kWh, energy density of 360 Wh/kg, and a single charge range of 1,000 km, is expected to start mass production as early as the end of this year.In summary, NIO has not only focused on the battery swap model and battery leasing solutions, but also to some extent ventured into battery production and development.
The establishment of a battery pilot line by NIO can be seen as a “firing” action by the automaker towards the battery suppliers.
In the era of pure electric vehicles, the cost of batteries accounts for about 40% of a car’s bill of materials. Battery manufacturers firmly control the production, manufacturing, and upstream raw material supply of batteries, and the rapid outbreak of the pure electric market has made OEMs bow their noble heads to suppliers.
The undercover battle between OEMs and battery suppliers has been going on, and NIO has chosen to make its own batteries, starting to recover this lost territory. So, which automaker will be the next to produce its own batteries?
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.