Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology (WeLion), NIO’s semi-solid battery supplier, enjoyed a significant increase in its installations from April to May 2024. The surge in battery installations apparently comes after NIO launched its new ET7 electric sedan, CnEVPost reported.
WeLion sees surge in battery demand
According to the report, China’s semi-solid state battery installation surged by a whopping 30.9% from 369.0 MWh in April to 482.9 MWh in May 2024. Impressively, WeLion advanced as the sole contributor.
According to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance’s (CABIA) data released on Friday, WeLion’s semi-solid state battery installation increased by approximately 31%.
Presented below is the EV battery installation data in China in May 2024:
| Battery Type | May 2024 Installations (MWh) | May 2024 vs. April 2024 Change | Jan-May 2024 Installations (MWh) | Supplier |
| Sodium-ion battery | 0.3 | 0.1% | 1.5 | 孚能科技、宁德时代、中科海钠 (Furen Tech, CATL, China Sodium Ion Battery) |
| Semi-solid state battery | 482.9 | 30.9% | 1621.8 | 卫蓝新能源 (WeLion New Energy) |
From January to May 2024, semi-solid state battery installations reached 1,621.8 MWh. The report emphasized that WeLion remained the sole contributor to these installations.
Deliveries to NIO
WeLion delivered the inaugural 360 Wh/kg semi-solid state battery cells to Chinese electric automaker NIO on June 30 last year. NIO utilized WeLion’s battery semi-solid state battery cell supply for its 150 kWh battery pack.
Calculations suggest that WeLion’s 482.9 MWh semi-solid state battery installations could produce approximately 3,200 units of 150 kWh battery packs.
NIO and WeLion have a close partnership in semi-solid state batteries, especially considering an NIO executive on WeLion’s board. However, the significant increase in battery installations in May 2024 likely does not reflect a large number of Nio cars being equipped with these new batteries, as noted in the report.
“…Nio apparently wouldn’t add that many 150-kWh packs in May, though it has been building semi-solid-state batteries jointly with WeLion for the past several years, and Nio’s senior vice president, Zeng Shuxiang, is a director of WeLion.”
CnEVPost
Meanwhile, WeLion delivered the first 360 Wh/kg high-energy-density power battery cells to NIO late last year.
For context, WeLion sells batteries with an energy density of 320 Wh/kg for drones, robots, portable power sources, and 280 Ah energy storage cells.
NIO’s 150 kWh semi-solid state battery
NIO introduced the 150-kWh semi-solid state battery with its ET7 electric sedan launch at the NIO Day 2020 event.
Following several delays, it started testing the battery packs in May. NIO officially began offering the new battery packs for daily rental just this month.
Several tests demonstrated that the battery pack enables the NIO ET7 to exceed a driving range of 1,000 kilometers between charges.
The surge in WeLion’s semi-solid state battery installations demonstrates the intensifying race for innovative electric vehicle battery technologies not only in China but globally.
The Chinese government is expected to invest about RMB 6 billion ($827 million) on all-solid-state battery R&D, China Daily reported in May 29. Major beneficiaries reportedly include CATL, BYD, China FAW Group, SAIC Motor Corp, WeLion and Geely Auto Group.
