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>>> QuantumScape (QS) EV Batteries Can Be Charged Super Fast. Why That Matters.


Barron's

By Al Root

Dec. 8, 2020


https://www.barrons.com/articles/quantumscape-ev-batteries-can-be-charged-super-fast-why-that-matters-51607429029?siteid=yhoof2


Electric-vehicle-battery start-up QuantumScape can get its lithium metal solid-state batteries to 80% full in 15 minutes without compromising battery life or safety.

That’s big. If QuantumScape’s (ticker: QS) technology scales up, it means a typical EV with some charge left—and with 200 or 300 miles of designed per charge range—could pick up about 200 miles of driving range in less than 15 minutes. That should be fast enough to alleviate much of the range anxiety consumers sometimes feel when thinking about purchasing a battery powered car.

Quantum released its data ahead of the company’s “solid state battery showcase,” which begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

“Previous attempts to create a solid-state separator capable of working with lithium metal at high rates of power generally required compromising other aspects of the cell—cycle life, operating temperature, safety, cathode loading, or excess lithium in the anode,” reads the release.

In addition to the charge time, Quantum says its tested cells are capable of lasting hundreds of thousands of miles and “retained capacity of greater than 80% after 800 [charge/discharge] cycles.”

“We believe that the performance data we’ve unveiled today shows that solid-state batteries have the potential to narrow the gap between electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles,” CEO Jagdeep Singh said in the company’s news release. Quantum hopes its advances can help make EVs the dominant form of personal transportation.

Investors have been high on Quantum’s business prospects. The stock has gained about 96% over the past month, valuing company stock at almost $20 billion.

Shares were up 17% more in premarket trading Tuesday to almost $52 a share. Including those gains, Quantum stock is up about 160% over the past three months.

QuantumScape doesn’t plan to reach $1 billion in sales until around 2026 to 2027. It will be scaling up its technology and testing it in automotive environments. Volkswagen (VOW.Germany) is a part owner of the company and plans to use solid-state batteries in the future.

Looking ahead to the company’s event, investors and analysts will have the chance to ask management about design and testing and how Quantum’s technology can be expanded to match automotive volumes. The company will have battery experts presenting as part of the live stream.

“These results blow away what was previously thought to be possible in a solid-state battery,” Venkat Viswanathan, battery expert and professor of materials science at Carnegie Mellon University, said in the news release. “This data shows the capability to charge to 80% capacity in 15 minutes, corresponding to an astonishingly high rate of lithium deposition of up to a micron per minute.”

Barron’s doesn’t know the significance of microns per minute. Perhaps that will be explained at the battery event.

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