Nio, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, has revealed that its highly anticipated 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery pack will finally be deployed in the second quarter of this year, marking a significant milestone after facing several setbacks.
The announcement was made in the company’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings highlights, shared on its social media platforms in China. This ultra-long-range battery pack is the largest-capacity unit to be mass-produced in the domestic passenger vehicle segment, enabling Nio models equipped with it to achieve an impressive range of up to 1,055 kilometers.
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The 150-kWh battery pack was first unveiled alongside the ET7 sedan at the Nio Day 2020 event on January 9, 2021. The cells for this advanced battery technology are supplied by local startup Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology, which began delivering 360 Wh/kg lithium battery cells to Nio on June 30, 2023.
Nio’s existing battery swap network currently offers 70/75-kWh standard range packs and 100-kWh long-range packs. In comparison, the new 150-kWh pack weighs 575 kg, which is 20 kg (3.6 percent) more than Nio’s 100-kWh pack, as per the company’s July 2023 user manual update.
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In a remarkable demonstration of the new battery’s capabilities, Nio’s founder, chairman, and CEO, William Li, completed a real-life range challenge with an ET7 sedan equipped with the 150-kWh battery pack on December 17, 2023. After driving 1,044 kilometers, the vehicle had a remaining charge of 3 percent and a remaining CLTC range of 36 kilometers.
Looking ahead, Beijing WeLion expects to commence bulk supply of semi-solid-state batteries to Nio in April 2024, with the scale of supply contingent upon Nio’s demand and increasing gradually over time.
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Despite the promising performance of the 150-kWh battery pack, its cost remains high due to its innovative nature. Nio’s co-founder and president, Li-Hung Chin, noted in February 2023 that the pack would be priced similarly to the company’s ET5 model, which starts at RMB 298,000 ($41,400).
While Nio originally planned to develop high energy density semi-solid-state batteries in collaboration with Chinese power battery giant CATL, this partnership was rejected due to cost concerns. As a result, Nio turned to WeLion, which, despite having accumulated technology, has not previously mass-produced automotive batteries, according to local media outlet LatePost.
