Chinese electric automaker NIO introduced an ultra-fast charging pile with up to 500 kW of power on December 24 at NIO Day 2022, according to The Manila Times. This charging pile will speed up the charging of electric vehicles.
The 500-kW ultra-fast charger will be operational by March 2023, similar to NIO’s third-generation battery swap stations.
Features
Maximum current capacity
According to NIO, the ultra-fast charging pile has a max charging current capacity of 660 A. It is also accessible to all makes and models of electric vehicles.
Charging time
The vehicle can charge from 10% to 80% within as little as 12 minutes if manufactured on the 800 V platform. The charging time would last for 20 minutes for 400 V models.
Reduced weight
NIO has integrated the ultra-fast charger with a 15.6-inch display and NIO’s liquid-cooling technology. It would dramatically lower the weight of the cable so that users can effortlessly manage it with one hand.
Accessibility
William Li, the founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, announced at the company’s launch event that its charging network is accessible to all car manufacturers. He also added that over 110 different brands of vehicles use 80.5% of the power that is supplied.
NIO’s rival, Xpeng
After its local rival XPeng debuted an EV charger with a maximum capacity of 480 kW earlier this year, NIO’s charger now has the highest charging power.
Furthermore, on August 15, XPeng demonstrated its S4 Supercharger technology. The company claims it has 480 kW of maximum power and a maximum current of 670 A. This technology enables the XPeng G9, which allows for 4C charging, a range of more than 200 kilometers in just five minutes. Additionally, its charging time would run as little as 15 from 10% to 80%.
It is also worth noting that vehicles from NIO consume 19.5% of its charging network’s power. It is followed by those vehicles from BYD (20.4%), Tesla (12%), XPeng (3.4%), and Li Auto (2.9%).
There are now 1,284 battery swap stations operated by NIO in China, along with 2,239 charging stations offering 13,083 charging piles, including both rapid charging piles and slower charging destination piles.
