Shanghai (ZXZC)- NIO Co., Ltd., an affiliated firm of Chinese EV startup NIO, intends to build a total of 31 laboratories dedicated to the R&D of lithium-ion cells and battery packs, according to an environmental impact assessment report recently released by the Environmental Information Release Platform of Shanghai Enterprises and Institutions.

The construction of the laboratories is part of a new project NIO will work on in Anting town, Shanghai. Additionally, the company will build trial production lines for lithium-ion cells and battery packs.

According to the report, the entire project will involve a total investment of 218.5 million yuan ($32.691 million) and will be carried out in rented industrial factories covering a floorage of over 22,000 square meters. Construction of these facilities is expected to start between August and October this year.

NIO revealed in the report that the new laboratories would be set up to explore the charging, discharging, and safety performances of lithium-ion cells and battery packs under different physical testing conditions in terms of temperature, tensile strength, and humidity, etc. In addition, they will also work on exploring the physicochemical property, proportioning, and property modification of cell materials, liquid injection optimization conditions, and battery pack assembly improvement conditions. About 400 R&D members will work at these laboratories for roughly 250 days.

NIO didn't disclose the output volume designed for the cell and battery pack trial manufacturing lines.

NIO has not commented on the move yet.

According to the corporate information inquiry platform Tianyancha, NIO Co., Ltd. is wholly-owned by NIO Holding Ltd., the legal entity of NIO China.