March 14, 2024, Beijing, China – Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (“CATL”) and NIO, a Chinese automaker, have signed the framework agreement to carry out innovation in the R&D of long-life batteries; according to the needs of NIO’s power swap. The partnership aims to bring about innovation in the automotive industry by introducing batteries that can last for more kilometers between charges.
Shizhe Tzeng, NIO’s Vice President, and Huan Gao, CTO of CATL’s China E-Car Business Unit, signed the agreement on behalf of the two companies. Alan Zeng, NIO’s Senior Vice President and CEO of XPT, and Wei Zhu, Executive President of CATL’s Passenger Car Business Unit, attended the signing ceremony.
Usually the batteries of new energy vehicles (NEV) are under a warranty of eight years. From 2025 to 2032, battery warranties of nearly 20 million NEVs had or will run out, which leads users to issues including driving cars with unwarranted batteries, lifespan difference between the vehicle and the battery, and quite high battery replacement costs. Therefore, it has become a pressing task to address the life span issues of batteries.
With technological R&D and unique battery swap operations, NIO has set up the industry’s first battery lifecycle health operational system, covering the three major conditions affecting battery life: temperature, intensity and frequency. In the meantime, it has further extended the lifespan of swappable batteries through operations and dispatch based on big data, and been able to retain 80% of capacity after 12 years of use. In addition, with regards to battery R&D, NIO has significantly improved the calendar life and cycle life of batteries. This improvement stems from research and development focusing on the intrinsic properties of anode and cathode materials as well as electrolyte. So far, NIO has developed full-stack R&D capabilities covering material synthesis, trial production of cells, system assembly, and validation and testing. It has obtained a total of 1,435 technology patents, among which 104 are related to battery lifespan.
CATL has developed core technologies, such as slow capacity attenuation. They include self-repairing Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) film and lithium supplement, to extend the service life of vehicle batteries. In this cooperation, with the long-life technology for swappable batteries as a key focus, NIO and CATL will jointly carry out discussions. They will make technological breakthroughs and innovation, and promote product applications. CATL will also plan and develop battery systems of longer service lives for NIO’s upcoming models. The two companies aim to establish a long-term and win-win partnership via technological cooperation in long-life batteries.
NIO and CATL are about to accelerate the development and adoption of such technologies. This will enable more EV users to enjoy battery swap services of higher quality without concerning about the high replacement costs of unwarranted batteries or reduced vehicle residual value due to battery attenuation. Moreover, batteries of longer lifespan also help with the sustainable development of the society.
NIO, a prominent smart EV company and a significant operator of battery swapping networks for smart EVs, has installed and operated over 2,300 Power Swap Stations worldwide. Additionally, it has facilitated more than 40 million battery swaps. Changan Automotive, Geely Holding, JAC Group, and Chery Automobile, among others, have entered into cooperation agreements with NIO to advance the development of battery swapping networks and unified standards collaboratively.
CATL is a global provider of new energy innovative technologies, committed to providing high-quality solutions and services for new energy applications worldwide. As of November 30, 2023, over 11.67 million vehicles had been running on CATL’s products.
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