Nio is working with UK artificial intelligence software startup Monolith to test and improve battery packs in real time, with testing to begin soon in five European markets.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) is teaming up with British artificial intelligence (AI) software startup Monolith to test and improve electric vehicle (EV) battery packs in real time using its battery swap service in Europe, Reuters said in a report today, citing the companies.
Testing will begin soon in five European markets, Monolith CEO Richard Ahlfeld said, according to Reuters.
Monolith is working to meet regulatory requirements to conduct the same tests in China, Ahlfeld said, adding that this should enable it to work with other Chinese automakers.
Monolith is already working with about 10 of the world's top 20 automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda, to test EV batteries using machine learning algorithms to speed up their development and help Western automakers catch up with new Chinese competitors, the Reuters report said.
A European automaker takes about five years or more to develop a new car, while a Chinese EV maker takes only about two years, the report noted.
Nio's head of battery system for Europe, Frank Kindermann, said 98 percent of its customers in five key European markets use the battery swap service, according to Reuters.
This allows the EV maker to test new batteries and check their health, performance and durability at each battery swap, using Monolith's AI algorithms to crunch the numbers, the report said.
“Nio can essentially give you a prototype of a car early on and they keep testing and learning from what you're doing,” Ahfeld said.
Nio currently has 56 battery swap stations in Europe, 19 in Norway and 18 in Germany, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
In China, Nio currently has 2,557 battery swap stations, 859 of which are located along highways.
In addition to having quick access to fully charged batteries through the battery swap service, Nio's vehicles support fast charging, just like any other regular EV models.
The company has one of the highest number of charging stations, as of today it has 2,388 supercharging stations in China offering 10,930 charging piles and 1,645 destination charging stations offering 12,700 charging piles.
So far, 13 brands including Geely, Jiyue, Polestar and Hongqi have announced their access to Nio's charging network.
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