Chinese EV maker Nio will officially end its “reverse battery swap” incentive program on July 15, according to a notice sent to users and reported by local media outlet IT Home.
The initiative, which was launched to improve grid stability and battery resource allocation, allowed users to voluntarily exchange high state-of-charge batteries for lower ones at Nio Power Swap stations in exchange for reward points.
These activities effectively turned swap stations into temporary energy storage hubs, helping to balance grid load during peak hours.
“Thank you for your continued participation and support. The reverse battery swap campaign will officially end on July 15. Please stay tuned for any future phase-based or region-specific campaigns,” Nio wrote in a message shared by IT Home.
Participants in the program could earn between 5 and 11 points per kilowatt-hour, depending on the time of day.
Swaps conducted from 14:00 to 22:00 earned the highest reward of 11 points per kWh, while those between 07:00 and 14:00 received 9 points, and overnight swaps from 22:00 to 07:00 earned 5 points.
The points could be redeemed in the Nio app for various products and services.
The reverse swap campaign was part of Nio’s broader strategy to position its battery swap network not only as a convenience for drivers but also as a tool to support energy infrastructure.
Nio has said its swap system can help stabilize the electrical grid, smooth local energy fluctuations, and increase the grid’s capacity to absorb clean energy.
As of February 2024, nearly 600 Nio swap stations across 14 Chinese provinces were participating in grid load regulation, offering a combined capacity of around 300,000 kilowatts.
Nio also sought to replicate this energy role overseas.
In Europe, the brand introduced its Power Swap stations in Norway in early 2022 and has since expanded to several other countries.
Last September, the company announced plans to launch its first bi-directional Power Swap station on the continent, capable of feeding electricity back into the grid.
At the time, Kajsa Ivansson Sognefur, Head of Nio Power Europe, said the stations “do more than recharge EVs,” describing them as “decentralized energy storage.”
She added that while the German stations would primarily be used for wholesale electricity trading, the focus in Denmark and the Netherlands would be on grid stabilization.
In Denmark, the country’s sole Nio Power Swap station has been providing frequency regulation services since February 2024, according to Fei Shen, the former Senior Vice President of Nio Power and current head of the company’s Onvo brand.
As of Wednesday, the company has just 60 battery swap stations deployed across its five European markets, with only ten stations opening in the last 12 months.
As EV learned in April, Nio’s Power division in Europe has been downsized significantly this year, leaving only five active employees.
In China, the company continues to scale its infrastructure.
As of Wednesday, Nio operated 3,399 battery swap stations and 26,701 charging piles. Earlier today, the company announced it had reached a milestone with the installation of its 1,000th highway swap station, focused on long-distance travel support.
