NIO is joining forces with a major OEM for EV battery swapping
In China. I didn’t want to bury the lede too far. Today, NIO and Changan Automobile announced the two companies had agreed to develop a joint standard for swappable EV batteries. NIO is the largest operator of swappable passenger EV batteries in the world, with over 2,000 battery swap stations in its home market of China, along with a small network in Europe. But today’s news is an important milestone for battery swapping regardless.
The companies have provided no timeline on when this cooperation will begin bearing fruits, but the two plan to work on swappable battery designs and the development of a network of shared battery swap stations. Changan currently doesn’t have any swappable battery EVs, but it’s China’s third or fourth-largest automaker (depending on the quarter), selling well over a million vehicles annually. NIO, meanwhile, is the world’s most mature operator in the battery swapping space, and says it has completed over 30 million battery swaps for its EV customers to date. Of course, it’s not clear how far the cooperation will extend — i.e., if Changan plans to adapt NIO’s battery designs for its own EVs, or merely if Changan’s future batteries will be designed to be compatible with NIO’s swap infrastructure.
Today’s cooperation news between Changan and Nio isn’t really about the technical details, but about carmakers doing something we quite rarely see: Agreeing to build interchangeable (or at least interserviceable — a word I’ve just invented) parts and service infrastructure. In an industry where in-house engineering is as much a marketing asset as it is a technological one, it’s unusual when competitors come together to standardize major components for the benefit of customers. (In fact, ICE manufacturers have long gone out of their way to obscure that their vehicles may share common technical underpinnings — a practice that reached its zenith in the “badge engineering” era of the 1980s.)
Battery swapping has real advantages for drivers, with NIO’s NIO Power stations completing the process in just 3 minutes. The company is even testing using its battery swap facilities to send power back to the grid — something that could seriously up the value potential of this kind of infrastructure at a societal level.
Read the press release from the two companies here.
Electrek’s take
Imagine a world where every brand of ICE car had to use a filling station owned by the vehicle OEM, even though every one of them still supplied the same basic formulation of gasoline. This is the nightmare that battery swapping poses. Granted, it’s for far more technically defensible reasons; namely, designing interoperable swappable batteries across car manufacturers is not a small challenge. But scaling battery swapping in a way that would make it sustainable almost certainly demands some form of interoperability.
The fact this is happening in China, of all places, is far less surprising. While China may be home to some of the world’s most aggressively expansionist and competitive EV brands, the country’s domestic market still operates in a highly regulated, quasi-centrally-planned economy. It’s also a highly price-sensitive market, and anything that could better distribute the costs of electrification is likely to be considered.
Changan is the country’s oldest carmaker and is wholly owned by the Chinese state. Having its cooperation here could theoretically initiate a domino effect in which other Chinese OEMs begin to unify around a common battery-swapping framework — especially if there begins to be a consensus the government could mandate such a thing in the future (and that seems far from inconceivable). And if China’s automakers were to broadly unify around such a standard, it could provide its entire EV industry a substantial competitive advantage globally.
Still, there’s no guarantee a cooperation announcement ends in two brands of EV using the same battery swap station — things can and do fall apart. But the concept here is an appealing one, and China is far and away leading the charge (no pun intended) on swappable battery EVs.
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Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.
Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Click here to learn more.
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Read more: All my favorite EVs, racecars, and robots from Electrify Expo Austin.
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Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.
Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”
This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”
Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.
Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.
Read more: Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.
NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.
The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.
NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.
Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.
This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.
In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:
NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.
This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.
Read: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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