Charging the Lotus Eletre SUV’s battery from 10 to 80% requires 20 minutes, which is already very fast for an electric car, while Nio promises battery swaps in just 3 minutes.
Battery swap technology, which makes it possible to replace the discharged pack of an electric car with a fully charged accumulator in a few minutes, is very attractive. Renault and Tesla have notably tried it, but only the Chinese manufacturer Nio is currently carrying out battery exchanges on its electric cars on a large scale.
Batteries in standardized format
To work, this technology requires cars to be equipped with a standardized battery. Nio fortunately offers other manufacturers the opportunity to adopt its battery formats, in order to expand the range of models compatible with its “Power Swap Stations”, numbering 2,400 at the time of writing these lines.
Nio has just announced a partnership with Lotus, a few months after entering into an agreement with Geely, the new owner of the English brand, which is currently developing a range of electric cars. “According to the agreement, the two companies will carry out comprehensive and in-depth strategic cooperation in areas related to charging and exchange”, explains Nio. In particular, it would be a question “to establish a unified battery standard system and jointly develop passenger vehicles adapted to the battery exchange system”.
Lotus’ next electric cars could thus be compatible with Nio’s battery swap technology. The agreement would also cover access to the Chinese manufacturer’s fast charging terminals. These compatibilities should, however, primarily concern the Middle Kingdom, where the vast majority of Nio’s infrastructure is located. “Our cooperation with Nio to share charging and trading resources will allow our users to experience the track genes and ultimate performance of Lotus while benefiting from the welcoming services of Nio’s charging and trading network throughout China”explains Qingfeng Feng, CEO of Group Lotus.