Volkswagen to Significantly Increase Solid-State Battery Production with QuantumScape

TapTechNews July 11th news, Volkswagen AG said on Thursday that it will significantly increase the production of solid-state batteries developed with the US startup QuantumScape, with the goal of introducing this technology to more vehicles.

According to the news released by both sides on Thursday, Volkswagen's battery division PowerCo will obtain the license to mass-produce battery cells based on QuantumScape technology, but it needs to meet conditions such as technological progress and payment of certain royalties. This agreement replaces a joint venture previously established by both sides.

Volkswagen mentioned in its annual report that it holds a 17% stake in QuantumScape, which is currently worth $459 million (TapTechNews note: currently about 3.345 billion yuan).

According to the agreement, PowerCo can produce up to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of batteries using QuantumScape technology each year, and can choose to expand it to 80 GWh, enough to meet the battery demand of about 1 million electric vehicles per year.

Solid-state batteries can store more electricity compared to the currently used liquid electrolyte batteries. Automakers and analysts generally believe that solid-state batteries will accelerate the popularization of electric vehicles by addressing the main consumer pain point of range limitations.

Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo, said: QuantumScape's technology is at a critical stage, and the expertise, resources, and global factories of PowerCo will help it smoothly achieve large-scale mass production.

Both sides will be committed to developing a scalable product and integrating it into one of the Volkswagen Group's vehicle series.

This agreement replaces the joint venture established by both sides in 2018, which aimed to jointly produce batteries.