Shell and Nio bring swap station to Europe

It still sometimes takes quite a long time to charge electric vehicles at the side of the road. Mineral oil company Shell and e-car manufacturer Nio would therefore like to speed up this process with a battery replacement station.

In recent years, the picture on European roads has changed. Sales figures for electric vehicles rose. Nevertheless, the expansion of the charging infrastructure in Germany has been sluggish. But even if there are enough charging points available, that does not mean that other potential drivers will switch to electric cars.

A counter-argument to electromobility is often that vehicles take significantly longer to refuel. Even with a fast charging station, a longer break at a motorway service station is often essential. E-car manufacturer NIO wants to change that and, in cooperation with Shell, is bringing a battery replacement station to Europe.

Shell and Nur offer battery swap stations in Europe

The principle behind it is relatively simple. Because batteries that are already charged should allow you to stop for fuel within a few minutes. To do this, you have to drive your electric car into a chamber, where a system then replaces the empty battery with a full one. Nio has teamed up with Shell to ensure the stations are available on busy roads.

The partnership has existed for two years. A first station is already in China. Now there’s the battery swap but also in Europe at the gas station. Because not far from Harmelen in the Netherlands there is a station that allows e-car drivers to charge their Nio vehicles by changing the battery.

Battery replacement: More stations are to follow

But the cooperation is just a drop in the bucket. Because 16 standard stations for changing batteries are already in operation outside of the partnership. There are also 1,400 exchange points in the People’s Republic. After the first station in the Netherlands, other Nio stations in Europe will soon follow.

In China, on the other hand, the electric car manufacturer would like to set up 100 exchange stations with Shell by 2025. In addition to the convenient charging of your own electric vehicle, the stations have another advantage: They are an excellent sales argument for the group. This is how a waiting time of more than an hour becomes a short exchange.

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