The rapid development of new energy vehicles has driven a sustained and rapid growth in the ownership of charging infrastructure. Today, NIO official WeChat account announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Longji Green Energy (601012. SH). According to a reporter from Caixin News Agency, Longji Green Energy learned that the first photovoltaic converter station jointly operated by both parties was put into operation at the end of last year. With the efficiency advantage of BC batteries and promotion efforts, this business is expected to increase in volume this year.
According to the agreement, both parties will cooperate in the use of photovoltaic smart energy systems in charging and swapping power stations, the construction of distributed photovoltaics in conjunction with V2G projects, and the establishment of industry standards related to "travel carbon neutrality", jointly promoting the use of clean electricity energy in charging and swapping infrastructure, and helping to achieve the goals of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" in the transportation sector.
A Caixin reporter noticed that this is the first photovoltaic converter station in the industry to operate using HPBC (Hybrid Passivated Back Contact) technology. The power station adopts Longi Green Energy Hi-MOX6 components, which is a product launched by Longi in October last year with a focus on distributed markets. According to data provided by the company, in the distributed power station in Xiangtan, Hunan, this component generates 6.54% more electricity per watt than conventional components in the same region.
It is reported that in the cooperation with NIO to build a battery swapping station, Longji Green Energy Hi-MOX6 components have integrated with NIO's leading battery swapping station technology through BIPV solutions, achieving green power travel.
Driven by both policy and market demand, the battery swapping track has become a hot area for industrial investment. This agreement is also the first time NIO Automobile has cooperated with a photovoltaic enterprise to build a battery swapping station. NIO continues to layout its charging and swapping network. In November last year, it signed a cooperation agreement with Changan Automobile on battery swapping business, which includes promoting the construction and sharing of battery swapping networks. According to data from China Post Securities, as of September last year, NIO has laid out approximately 1800 battery swapping stations and 2978 charging stations, with a total of 876000+third-party charging stations connected.
In the past two years, China's new energy vehicle industry has entered a period of comprehensive market expansion. In order to solve the "charging anxiety", the battery swapping market has experienced rapid development. Not only are there automotive companies such as SAIC and GAC, but also battery suppliers such as CATL (300750. SZ). Operators such as Aodong New Energy and Hanchuan Intelligent (688022. SH) are actively laying out their operations.
To expand downstream application scenarios, multiple photovoltaic companies are also turning their attention to the integrated layout of photovoltaic storage, charging, and swapping. For example, Baoxin Technology (002514. SZ) has put into operation over 200 charging and swapping power stations (including 4 liquid cooling and overcharging demonstration stations) and over 2000 charging piles; In 2022, GCL will launch a super large integrated charging and swapping station called GCL Electric Port. According to GCL Energy Technology (002015. SZ) on the investor interaction platform, as of the end of November last year, the company has put into operation 78 battery swapping stations, which mainly provide battery swapping services for commercial vehicles such as taxis, ride hailing services, and freight vehicles.
CITIC Securities believes that based on the ownership of new energy vehicles, the battery swapping industry will experience explosive development in the future. It is expected that the number of battery swapping stations will reach 27489 in 2026, corresponding to a CAGR of 93% from 2022 to 2026; The market size of battery swapping equipment is expected to reach 30.5 billion yuan in 2026.