China's largest battery manufacturer will buy Nio Power and focus on battery swapping, despite previous failures in Denmark with both Better Place and Nio's swapping stations.
Battery swapping for electric cars has previously been attempted in Denmark, but without success. First with Better Place and then with Nio ES8, both of which were presented with grand visions of quick battery swapping and easy charging.
Yet the technology never caught on in the Danish market. Now the technology is back in the spotlight.
Chinese CATL , the world's largest producer of electric car batteries, will buy Nio's battery replacement company Nio Power.
According to Reuters, four sources close to the negotiations have confirmed that CATL will take over the majority of shares in the company, which currently operates over 3,200 battery swapping stations worldwide.
Better Place and Nio failed with battery replacement in Denmark
It's not the first time that Danish electric car buyers have heard about the idea of battery swapping. Already in the early 2010s, Better Place launched a network of swapping stations in collaboration with Renault.
The technology was centered around the Renault Fluence ZE, but the car had too short a range and was too expensive. The stations were never widely deployed, and Better Place ended up going bankrupt in 2013.
Later, Chinese Nio tried to repeat the idea with the SUV ES8, which came with the option of changing the battery in three minutes. But that technology was not widespread in Denmark either. Instead, most cars were sent on to Norway.
CATL has already invested billions in Nio Power
In March, CATL invested over 3.5 billion kroner in a joint project with Nio Power. Now the battery giant is considering taking full control of the technology.
If the deal goes through, it could be the first step towards standardizing battery swapping in China and perhaps the rest of the world. It would mean that electric car drivers could swap to a new, fully charged battery in minutes without getting out of the car.
Nio itself has stated that it is currently in dialogue with several investors, including CATL. In addition, Nio has entered into an agreement with the state-owned oil company Siopec to build 10,000 new battery swapping stations – 500 of which will be in place by 2025.
Competition from fast chargers
At the same time, competition from fast chargers is increasing. In China, both Zeekr and Huawei have just launched chargers with an output of over 1 megawatt, which can charge an electric car in under five minutes.
This raises the question of whether battery swapping is still relevant when charging times are getting so short. However, CATL still believes in the idea and sees potential in giving electric car buyers flexibility.
For example, you can buy a car with a smaller battery and rent a larger one for holiday driving, if desired.
Whether the technology will be successful in Europe and Denmark is still largely unknown. But if CATL takes over Nio Power, it could give the battery swap concept a new lease of life. Maybe…
