Two years after announcing an initial partnership to implement EV battery swap stations together, NIO and Shell have opened their first station in Europe. The new location joins several swap stations already implemented in China, as both parties look to expand their footprint together on two separate continents.
Shell remains the world’s largest gasoline retailer and as so, remains very low on our list of companies we like to give coverage too. That being said, even the oil giant recognizes that its days of peddling gas are numbered and has invested big bucks into powering the next generation of mobile technologies. They still suck, though.
We’ve seen shell acquire smaller charging companies, implement new zero emission solutions like electric ferries, and partner up with some big automakers who also develop EV charging solutions like BYD.
In November of 2021, we were admittedly surprised to hear that Chinese EV automaker NIO had signed into a strategic partnership with Shell which included plans for co-branded battery swap stations and EV fast chargers throughout China and Europe.
We saw those initial branded chargers and swap stations roll out in Tongan, Xiamen, China last summer, but haven’t seen any swap stations in Europe as originally promised. Today, the companies opened their first station in the Netherlands with plenty more on the way.
