Legacy lithium-ion batteries are approaching the limits of their possible energy density just as demand for higher performing energy storage surges. QuantumScape’s groundbreaking technology is designed to overcome the major shortfalls of legacy batteries and brings us into a new era of energy storage with two major innovations — an anodeless architecture and proprietary solid ceramic separator — that improve energy density, charging speeds and safety.
Legacy lithium-ion batteries are approaching the limits of their possible energy density just as demand for higher performing energy storage surges. QuantumScape’s groundbreaking technology is designed to overcome the major shortfalls of legacy batteries and brings us into a new era of energy storage with two major innovations — an anodeless architecture and proprietary solid ceramic separator — that improve energy density, charging speeds and safety.
Significantly increases volumetric and gravimetric energy densities by eliminating graphite/silicon anode host material
Enables <15-minute fast charge (10-80%) by eliminating lithium diffusion bottleneck in anode host material
Extends useful lifetime by eliminating capacity loss at anode interface
Eliminates organic separator and replaces with a solid-state separator that is nonflammable and noncombustible
Lowers cost by eliminating anode host material and manufacturing costs
The QSE-5 is QuantumScape’s first planned commercial product. It’s designed to offer an unmatched combination of energy density, fast-charging, high power, and a safety profile superior to conventional lithium-ion batteries. We’re working together with partners in the automotive industry to bring this revolutionary technology platform into real-world electric vehicles as soon as possible.
Energy density is a measure of how much energy a battery can store relative to its size or weight. A higher energy density allows for more energy to be stored in a given volume or weight, which can lead to longer driving ranges, smaller vehicle sizes, or a combination of both for electric vehicles.
Conventional lithium-ion batteries have to make a choice between offering faster charging or higher energy density. QuantumScape’s technology is designed to give drivers both at the same time, which will make the experience of driving an electric vehicle more convenient and more enjoyable.
Learn more about how we measure energy density in this blog post.
QuantumScape’s technology platform is designed to pair with a variety of cathode chemistries, including Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), with the potential to significantly improve the energy densities compared to today’s lithium-ion cells. This capability enables optimization for diverse energy storage applications and gives our platform the flexibility to benefit from future cathode chemistry advancements and potentially lower costs.
Questions about our solid-state battery tech? We’ve got answers.
A: A solid-state lithium-metal battery is a battery that replaces the polymer separator used in conventional lithium-ion batteries with a solid-state separator. The replacement of the separator enables the carbon or silicon anode used in conventional lithium-ion batteries to be replaced with a lithium-metal anode. The lithium metal anode is more energy dense than conventional anodes, allowing the battery to store a greater amount of energy in the same volume. Some solid-state designs use excess lithium to form the anode, but the QuantumScape design is ‘anode-free’ in that the battery is manufactured anode free in a discharged state, and the anode forms in situ on the first charge.
A: Relative to a conventional lithium-ion battery, solid-state lithium-metal battery technology has the potential to increase the cell energy density (by eliminating the carbon or carbon-silicon anode), reduce charge time (by eliminating the charge bottleneck resulting from the need to have lithium diffuse into the carbon particles in conventional lithium-ion cell), prolong life (by eliminating capacity fade that results from the unwanted chemical side reaction between the carbon and liquid electrolyte in conventional lithium-ion cells), improve safety (by eliminating the combustible organic porous separator and organic anolyte material in conventional cells) and lower cost (by eliminating the anode materials and manufacturing costs).
A: The higher energy density of QuantumScape solid-state lithium-metal cells, at our commercial target of 800–1,000 Wh/L (as of Dec. 2023), could translate to more range in the electric vehicle, depending on the vehicle design. For example, a vehicle that gets ~350 miles of range on a single charge using one of today’s leading conventional lithium-ion cells with an energy density of ~700 Wh/L, could get between 400 and 500 miles of range using QuantumScape cells.
The actual range attainable by a car depends on many factors, and vehicle designers may choose to optimize for range, cost, space, or other factors, and these design choices will impact the range of the vehicle.
A: Most of the benefits of solid-state stem from the ability to use lithium metal as the anode. Using lithium-metal as the anode requires a solid-state separator that prevents dendrites and does not react with lithium. Once you have such a separator, you can use lithium-metal as the anode and realize the benefits of higher energy density, faster charge, and improved life and safety. QuantumScape has developed such a separator based on its proprietary ceramic material and uses a pure lithium-metal anode with zero excess lithium to deliver the above benefits. QuantumScape couples this solid-state ceramic separator with an organic liquid electrolyte for the cathode (catholyte). The ceramic separator also enables our battery design to use a customized catholyte material, better suited for the voltage and transport requirements of the cathode. The requirements for the ceramic separator are different from that of the catholyte. The former requires dendrite resistance and stability to lithium-metal. The latter requires high conductivity (given the thicker cathode), high voltage stability (given the cathode voltage), and the ability to make good contact with the cathode active material particle. It is difficult to find materials that meet both these requirements and attempts to do so often result in a material that meets neither requirement well, resulting in cells that can fail from dendrite formation while also not providing sufficient conductivity to run at high power.
A: Specific energy is the term physicists use to refer to gravimetric energy density, i.e., Wh/kg, whereas energy density is the term they use to refer to volumetric energy density. A cell with higher specific energy will save weight in the batteries themselves and provide additional weight savings in the battery system. Less weight in the car from a lighter battery system can then reduce chassis weight, tires, brakes, and more, which can improve vehicle performance and efficiency.
A cell with higher volumetric energy density will reduce the size of the modules and pack. This, too, has follow-on benefits at the system level, requiring fewer connectors and cables, and allowing for safe design of the vehicle with more room for crumple zones, as well more comfort with more room for passengers and cargo.
QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery technology is designed to provide both high specific energy and high energy density.
A: The QuantumScape separator material is a ceramic capable of meeting the key requirements of high conductivity, stability to lithium metal, resistance to dendrite formation, and low interfacial impedance. These are the key requirements to make a lithium-metal anode, which in turn enables high energy density, fast charge, and long life. The ceramic itself is non-combustible, making it safer than conventional polymer separators, which are hydrocarbons and so can burn. The formulation of QuantumScape’s material is proprietary, but it uses earth abundant materials with a continuous-flow manufacturing process, which we believe will make it cost-effective at commercial volumes.
A: Ceramics in general are stable to very high temperatures, and our ceramic separator is no exception. In addition, even at very high temperatures, it does not burn (since it is already oxidized), therefore we believe that it will provide a thermally stable barrier between the anode and cathode. Our architecture reduces the fuel content of the cell by removing the conventional polymer separator, graphite and anolyte. Note that we have not completed the development of our multilayer commercial battery cell, and so have not yet conducted safety tests on commercial target batteries and packs.
A: Our 24-layer A0 prototype cell has completed more than 1,000 full charge-discharge cycle equivalents with more than 95% energy retention. If we can generate the same level of performance in our commercial battery cells at our target energy density, this would be the equivalent of driving ~300,000 miles and still maintaining 95% of the original energy retention.*
The company has a lot of work remaining, including on improving reliability, integrating key functionality, and scaling up production, among other things, before these cells can be ready for commercial production (as of Dec. 2023).
*This mileage equivalent assumes the vehicle uses a battery pack that gets ~300 miles of range on a single charge.
A: Solid-state lithium-metal cells offer benefits on many major performance dimensions so we expect they will be very popular with the world’s automakers. However, if we are successful in our development efforts, we believe that the potential demand for our batteries will far outstrip our ability in the short term – and indeed any single vendor’s ability — to produce them. So, we do expect there will be multiple technologies co-existing in the industry for some time to come. When one considers other markets such as stationary storage for the grid and consumer electronics, the market is even bigger, so the world will need all its battery factories producing at full capacity to meet the potential future demand.
A: Over the years, people have tried to develop solid-state batteries with materials such as polymers, sulfides, oxides, liquids, and composites (which are a mix of other materials, such as polymers and ceramics). We are not aware of any of these efforts being successful on the metric of delivering long cycle life at high rates of power without requiring elevated temperatures. Most importantly, to our knowledge none of the competing approaches have presented data showing they are able to prevent dendrites (lithium growths that short circuit batteries) at room temperature and automotive current densities. To date, the principal way that these competing approaches have avoided dendrites is by compromising test conditions (i.e. low power, short-cycle life, raising the temperature, etc.). It took us over 10 years, over two million tests, and over $300 million to get to the level of performance we have demonstrated, so we believe this is a very hard problem and will be difficult for competitors to solve. During our development process we also created over 200 patents and applications to protect our unique approach.
This website contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and information based on management’s current expectations as of the date of this website. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this current report, including statements regarding the future development of QuantumScape’s battery technology, the anticipated benefits of QuantumScape’s technologies and the performance of its batteries, and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this current report, the words “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “pro forma,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “predict,” “target,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “continue,” “believe,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipates” the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, hopes, beliefs, intentions, and strategies regarding future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Many of these factors are outside QuantumScape’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to ones listed here. QuantumScape faces significant barriers in its attempts to produce a solid-state battery cell and may not be able to successfully develop its solid-state battery cell. Building high volumes of multi-layer cells in the commercial form factor and with higher layer count requires substantial development effort. QuantumScape could encounter significant delays and/or technical challenges in replicating the performance seen in tests of its single-layer cells and early generations of multi-layer cells and in achieving the high yield, reliability, uniformity and performance targets required for commercial production and sale. QuantumScape may encounter delays and other obstacles in acquiring, installing and operating new manufacturing equipment for automated and/or continuous-flow processes, including vendor delays (which we have already experienced) and challenges optimizing complex manufacturing processes. QuantumScape may encounter delays in hiring the engineers it needs to expand its development and production efforts, delays in building out its QS-0 pre-pilot line, and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Delays in increasing production of engineering samples would slow QuantumScape’s development efforts. QuantumScape may be unable to adequately control the costs associated with its operations and the components necessary to build its solid-state battery cells at competitive prices. QuantumScape’s spending may be higher than currently anticipated. QuantumScape may not be successful in competing in the battery market industry or establishing and maintaining confidence in its long-term business prospectus among current and future partners and customers and the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on QuantumScape’s business. QuantumScape cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. QuantumScape cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.
Except as otherwise required by applicable law, QuantumScape disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements. Should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and projections could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that could materially affect QuantumScape’s actual results can be found in QuantumScape’s periodic filings with the SEC. QuantumScape’s SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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Pamela Fong is QuantumScape’s Chief of Human Resources Operations, leading people strategy and operations, including talent acquisition, organizational development and employee engagement. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Fong served as the Vice President of Global Human Resources at PDF Solutions (NASDAQ: PDFS), a semiconductor SAAS company. Before that, she served in several HR leadership roles at Foxconn Interconnect Technology, Inc., a multinational electronics manufacturer, and NUMMI, an automotive manufacturing joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. Ms. Fong holds a B.S. in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley and a M.S. in Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
