NIO electric cars are about to get a massive boost in driving range as the company prepares to release a 150kWh solid-state battery in the last quarter of 2022. Existing NIO owners can upgrade to the new battery too.
The Chinese company’s 150 kWh solid-state battery pack contains a solid electrolyte compared to the liquid electrolyte found in standard lithium-ion batteries. NIO’s battery includes an anode made from silicon-carbon composite and nickel cathode. It offers an energy density of 360 Wh/kg.
The new solid-state battery will boost the NIO ES8’s driving range to 850 km, the ES6 to 900 km, and the ET7 to above 1,000 km, all according to NEDC estimates. NIO had announced at the unveiling of the flagship ET7 last year that its upcoming solid-state battery would upgrade the driving range to above the 1,000 km mark toward the end of 2022, reports CnEVPost.
NIO has not revealed who the solid-state battery supplier is. However, the founder of Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology, Li Hong, did say in March that it was supplying solid-state batteries to NIO. He said the two companies were working on a solid-liquid electrolyte hybrid battery that could last 1,000 km on a single charge, based on the ET7.
This hybrid battery will enter production at the end of this year or the beginning of 2023.
NIO owners can upgrade their battery packs to the new battery. This is not difficult, given NIO cars have swappable batteries. They can even upgrade permanently or on a monthly basis. According to NIO, more than 8700 clients have taken advantage of the flexible battery upgrade path. It has completed more than 10 million battery swaps.
Earlier this year, NIO produced its 200,000th electric car.
