Chinese manufacturer Nio’s electric car will soon go on sale with a 150 kWh semi-solid-state battery (140 kWh usable) – the largest of any passenger car, it says Car News China. To demonstrate how much range the battery will provide, Nio CEO William Lee drove a prototype ET7 1,044 km in 14 hours – a distance exceeding many cars with a conventional internal combustion engine on one tank.
The test was conducted at relatively cool temperatures (-2 to +12°C) and broadcast live. Driving was mostly done in semi-autonomous mode (or Navigate-on-Pilot+ as Nio calls it) and speed was limited to 90 km/h. The average speed was 83.9 km/h, and the travel time excluding stops was 12.4 hours.
Completing this endurance test proves the performance capabilities of the 150 kWh ultra-long range battery. More importantly, all models on sale can be flexibly upgraded to 150 kWh batteries using Nio’s battery swap system.
In reality, the ET7’s 150kWh battery will only be available as a separate lease from the car, as we’ve seen with some cars sold in Europe. The company previously said the cost of the battery alone would be comparable to the cost of the entire car, or about $42,000.
Manufactured by WeLion New Energy Technology, this battery has an energy density per cell of 360 Wh/kg or 260 Wh/kg for the entire unit. For comparison, Tesla’s latest cells have a density of just under 300 Wh/kg.
Semi-solid-state batteries offer higher energy density and fire resistance than current batteries. However, they are still a long way from full-fledged solid-state batteries, which could theoretically double the energy density.
For reference, Nio is a luxury electric vehicle manufacturer in China that offers battery-free cars by allowing you to sign up for a monthly battery lease (BAAS). This service also allows you to change the battery at any time to a more capacious one.
2023-12-19 12:00:00
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