Chinese technology company CSG Smart Science said today in response to a question from investors that it has a partial contract with Nio for the battery swap station project that is currently underway.
The company was responding to a question about whether it is still working with Nio on the battery swap station project as of August.
Since the launch of its first model, the ES8, at the end of 2017, Nio has maintained a "battery swap" approach.
This model was back by CSG Smart Science, which signed a partnership agreement with Nio in February 2017 to develop battery swap stations.
The purpose of the collaboration was to complete the development and manufacturing of the Nio battery swap station, with the goal of reducing the cost of the battery swap station and eventually achieving the goal of mass production, the company said back then.
In July, CSG Smart Science said that its latest battery swap station system integrated solution can reduce the entire process of changing the battery in a car to less than 2 minutes.
The company also said that the latest technology allows the battery swap station to store up to 30 batteries and can stagger charging based on grid load.
Chinese investment bank CICC believes that the battery swap model can effectively alleviate the charging difficulty and mileage anxiety in China's still unsound charging infrastructure.
In July, the Chinese EV maker's CEO Li Bin said in a media interview that Nio is accelerating the development of a new generation of battery swap station, without giving details.
As of July 24, Nio has a total of 139 battery swap stations. The company is building the facility at the rate of one a week, and its future target is one station a day.
For now, however, the cost of building a battery swap station remains high.
In Nio's previous plan, 1,100 battery swap stations will be built nationwide by 2020, but as of July 24, the number was only 139.
At Nio Day late last year, Nio co-founder and President Qin Lihong had said that the Nio Power would make big moves in the first half of this year. Prior to that, there had been news that Nio would spin off the Nio Power business and seek a separate IPO.
"There are three costs associated with battery swap: battery swap stations, electricity bills and operations (labour, rent)." Li Bin said to make this sustainably, making sure who will be responsible for the capital used for batteries is a big question, "so a battery asset company will be established."
Previously, there were also reports saying Nio is planning to set up a battery asset management company to push for the separation of the car from the battery and launch a BaaS (Battery as a Service) offering on top of that.
Nio will also bring in investment from large energy funds for the new company, which will be established in August and is currently seeking financing, the reports said, adding that Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker has already made clear its intention to invest.
Nio is expected to release its second quarter financial results later on Tuesday Beijing time.
