QuantumScape and PowerCo broaden partnership to expedite the commercialization of solid-state battery technology
QuantumScape Corporation, a global leader in next-generation solid-state lithium-metal battery technology, and PowerCo SE, the battery company of the Volkswagen Group, have expanded their strategic collaboration and licensing arrangement.
Dr. Siva Sivaram, the CEO and president of QuantumScape Corporation, will lead the joint efforts to accelerate the commercialization of QSE-5 solid-state battery technology.
Under the expanded agreement, PowerCo will invest up to $131 million over the next two years, contingent on meeting defined milestones. The first milestones have already been achieved, and payments are expected to begin in 2025.
PowerCo gains the right to produce up to 5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of QSE-5-based cells annually, with this right extending beyond Volkswagen Group customers, allowing PowerCo to supply external clients.
The expanded agreement involves accelerating the development of QuantumScape's next-generation QSE-5 battery cells at a pilot line in San Jose, California. PowerCo will be involved early in production and automation processes, enabling faster scale-up of production capacity and the infrastructure necessary for technology transfer.
PowerCo will also have access to certain future QuantumScape technologies under the licensing agreement. The licensing agreement does not disclose any new information about PowerCo's right to license future QuantumScape Corporation technology.
The parties express shared confidence in QSE-5 as a game-changing platform for the battery industry. The expanded collaboration aims to accelerate the commercialization of QSE-5 solid-state battery technology.
Dr. Siva Sivaram remains the CEO and president of QuantumScape Corporation, and no changes to this leadership have been announced. The updated collaboration agreement is designed to accelerate the QSE-5 battery development pilot line in San Jose.
The agreement does not specify any new milestones or payment schedules, nor does it repeat any previously mentioned financial commitments or provide details about PowerCo's engagement in QSE-5 production and automation efforts beyond the earlier mentioned rights.
These inflows are in addition to the previously announced $130 million that will be due to QuantumScape Corporation upon satisfactory technical progress and subsequent execution of the licensing agreement. The collaboration expansion does not mention any changes to PowerCo's rights in the licensing agreement.
In summary, this expanded collaboration marks significant progress toward commercial solid-state battery production by jointly advancing technology development, scaling production lines, and linking payments to key technical and production milestones. PowerCo's rights to produce and sell batteries are extended and strengthened, reflecting a deeper industrial partnership beyond licensing alone.
The joint efforts to accelerate the commercialization of QSE-5 solid-state battery technology will be led by QuantumScape Corporation in its deeper industrial partnership with PowerCo SE. PowerCo's financial commitment of up to $131 million, contingent on meeting milestones, will additionally fund data-and-cloud-computing and technology advancements in energy and finance for the scaling of QSE-5 battery production.
