Power Swap Station (PSS) von NIO in Emsbüren/ Niedersachsen. Foto: NIO
As part of a cooperation agreement, RWE, one of Europe’s leading renewable energy companies, will supply green electricity to all NIO properties that do not receive electricity directly from the landowner. The NIO infrastructure includes NIO Power Swap Stations, NIO Houses, NIO Hubs and various NIO offices. Through the supply contract, NIO will pass on attractive pricing conditions directly to its users. “Thanks to the cooperation with RWE and access to the electricity exchange with its variable trading prices, we can charge the batteries in our PSS in a cost-optimized way. For example, at night or when the electricity price is particularly low. We will offer a price that is extremely competitive in comparison and yet does not change daily or hourly, so that our NIO users have planning security. We see this as a particular added value, especially when there are major price fluctuations on the market,” says Marius Hayler, General Manager NIO Germany.
Free battery swap and power until the end of March 2024
NIO users who rent the battery of their vehicle in the “Battery-as-a-Service” (BaaS) model receive access to the Power Swap Station (PSS), a technology and energy solution that enables fully automatic battery swapping in around five minutes. NIO users can currently swap their battery free of charge until the end of the year and benefit from free electricity at the PSS. NIO is now extending this promotion until at least the end of March 2024. From April 2024, users will receive two free swaps per month in the BaaS model, with only the electricity received on top. This means that users only pay the energy difference between the new and returned battery. A swapping fee of 10 euros is charged from the third swap onwards. The new price model therefore comprises two components: The swapping service fee and the energy. Thanks to the cooperation with RWE, NIO users pay a particularly attractive price, which is comparable to around 0.39 euros per kilowatt hour.
Nine more Power Swap Stations about to open
In mid-November, the eighth PSS in Germany was opened in Emsbüren, Lower Saxony. The PSS in Emsbüren is the first station to be fully automated and operate without staff. All previous and future PSSs will follow this operating model. This means that there are always fixed opening hours and users can also use off-peak times in the morning or late in the evening in a predictable and reliable manner. In the near future, nine more PSSs will go into operation and expand NIO’s charging and battery exchange network: Bavaria (Mühldorf am Inn, Aurach and Geiselwind), Hesse (Sulzbach and Reiskirchen), North Rhine-Westphalia (Kirchlengern), Lower Saxony (Lehre), Brandenburg (Schipkau) and Saxony (Schkeuditz). A PSS at the St. Augustin site near Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia) is currently being prepared for construction.
