Shanghai (ZXZC)- On August 31, NIO and Sinopec Group's Hainan sales subsidiary (called “Sinopec Hainan” for short) entered into a strategic agreement to co-deploy EV charging and battery swapping stations.

At the same time, the first EV charging & battery swapping station co-built by the two parties started operation at a rest stop next to a highway in Qionghai city.

NIO, Sinopec's Hainan branch signing agreement; photo credit: Sinopec

The newly-launched facility features the technologies designed for NIO's second-generation battery swapping station. According to NIO, each NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 is equipped with 13 battery packs and is capable of completing up to 312 battery swaps per day, significantly improving swapping efficiency. Thanks to 239 sensors and four cooperative cloud computing systems that maximize the application of visual recognition technologies, users can complete a self-service battery swap with only one click while staying in the car.

On the same day, NIO also launched battery swapping stations in Haikou and Danzhou cities of Hainan province, as part of efforts to build a battery swapping network covering Hainan Island Ring Expressway.

On April 15, NIO and Sinopec Group struck a deal for a strategic cooperation on the deployment of battery swapping stations. Under the agreement, the duo will carry out all-around collaboration on such spheres as new materials, smart electric vehicles, BaaS (Battery as a Service), vehicle procurement and the building of scenarios for recreation and consumption.

Meanwhile, NIO's first Power Swap Station 2.0 was officially launched at Sinopec's Chaoying Station in Beijing.