PowerCo and QuantumScape Announce Landmark Agreement to Industrialize Solid-State Batteries

July 11, 2024

QuantumScape and PowerCo, the battery company of the Volkswagen Group, have entered into a groundbreaking agreement to accelerate the industrialization of QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery technology.

• Collaboration Overview
  • QuantumScape and PowerCo will collaborate on manufacturing battery cells based on QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery technology.
  • The companies will establish a large jointly staffed scale-up team for technology transfer, co-development of production processes and related activities.
  • This agreement supersedes an earlier joint venture (JV) between the Volkswagen Group and QuantumScape to co-manufacture batteries.

• License Agreement
  • Subject to the achievement of technical milestones, QuantumScape will grant PowerCo a non-exclusive, royalty-bearing IP license, and PowerCo will pre-pay QuantumScape an initial royalty fee of $130M, credited against future royalties.
  • The license would cover the current battery platform used in the QSE-5 design.
  • The license would allow for PowerCo to manufacture and sell automotive batteries up to 40 GWh annually, expandable by an additional 40 GWh.
• Why this Matters
  • The agreement is a major step in our scale-up strategy to bring QuantumScape’s solid-state lithium-metal battery technology to market. It amplifies the companies’ core competencies – QuantumScape’s cutting-edge technology and PowerCo’s global capabilities in industrialization and manufacturing facilities.
  • This deal represents a validation of QuantumScape’s frontier technology by a leading global automotive partner.
  • Licensing to a partner with global industrialization and manufacturing capabilities provides QuantumScape with a capital-light project approach, reducing time to volume and ramp up challenges.
  • The companies believe deal represents fastest route to gigawatt-hour-scale production of solid-state technology to meet global EV battery demand.