Volkswagen Group’s battery subsidiary, PowerCo, and QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) have announced a landmark agreement aimed at industrializing QuantumScape’s advanced solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. This agreement, contingent upon achieving satisfactory technical milestones and making certain royalty payments, grants PowerCo a license to mass-produce battery cells based on QuantumScape’s technology platform.
Under this non-exclusive license, PowerCo has the capability to manufacture up to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year initially, with the potential to expand to 80 GWh annually. This capacity would be sufficient to equip approximately one million vehicles per year. The partnership between the two companies is seen as the most efficient pathway to achieving large-scale production of solid-state battery technology, meeting the rising global demand for superior electric vehicle batteries. Notably, this agreement supersedes a previous joint venture between Volkswagen Group and QuantumScape for battery co-manufacturing.
The collaboration establishes a highly synergistic partnership leveraging QuantumScape’s cutting-edge technology and PowerCo’s extensive global industrialization and manufacturing capabilities. It includes the formation of a dedicated scale-up team comprising experts from both entities to accelerate the industrialization process of QuantumScape’s technology.
QuantumScape’s technology is anchored on its proprietary solid-state ceramic separator, enabling the utilization of a pure lithium-metal anode. This innovation promises exceptional energy and power density, rapid charging capabilities, and robust safety features. Together, QuantumScape and PowerCo aim to develop a product suitable for integration into Volkswagen Group vehicle series.
Frank Blome, CEO of PowerCo, emphasized the partnership’s aim to deliver sustainable and state-of-the-art battery cells to customers. He highlighted their years of collaboration and testing of QuantumScape prototype cells, expressing confidence in transitioning this futuristic technology into series production.
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology, underscored the strategic importance of this agreement in ensuring the Volkswagen Group’s global fleet access to cutting-edge battery technology, crucial for advancing the future of mobility.
Dr. Siva Sivaram, CEO and president of QuantumScape, described the agreement as a significant step in their global scale-up strategy, positioning QuantumScape at the forefront of energy storage innovation. He emphasized the strategic advantage of combining QuantumScape’s technology with PowerCo’s manufacturing expertise to accelerate commercialization and adoption of these groundbreaking batteries.
In this new phase of collaboration with QuantumScape, Frank Blome has transitioned off QuantumScape’s board of directors, a role he had held since 2020. His successor on the QuantumScape board will be announced in the coming months.
Jagdeep Singh, co-founder and board chairman of QuantumScape, acknowledged Frank Blome’s pivotal role in their partnership, noting his contributions to QuantumScape’s product strategy and industrialization decisions. Singh affirmed Blome’s ongoing integral involvement as PowerCo continues to advance their innovative battery technology.
This agreement marks a pivotal moment in advancing solid-state battery technology towards widespread adoption in the automotive industry, setting new benchmarks in efficiency and sustainability for electric vehicles globally.
