QuantumScape is developing solid-state lithium-metal battery technology that promises significant performance improvements compared to current lithium-ion cells.

Now the company has started customer shipments of Alpha-2 prototype battery cells, a significant milestone on the road to delivery of its first planned commercial product, called QSE-5.

QuantumScape’s Alpha-2 prototypes integrate many significant component improvements made over the last year. The six-layer Alpha-2 prototype is more energy-dense than the earlier 24-layer A0 prototype. This is primarily due to higher-loading cathodes (packed with more active material) and more efficient packaging within the cell. Packaging improvements include tighter internal margins, thinner current collectors and a slimmer design.

As an intermediate step between the A0 and the B0 prototypes planned for later this year, Alpha-2 cells feature the main functionality of the QSE-5, and represent an opportunity for customers to test key performance parameters and prototype-level reliability.

“Customer feedback is the most critical input in the product development cycle, as it provides insight into areas that need improvement, and strengthens collaboration,” said QuantumScape CEO Dr. Siva Sivaram. “The faster we can get new product iterations into customers’ hands, the faster we get to production. We are encouraged by the initial Alpha-2 performance results and excited about the first QSE-5 cells we expect to manufacture later this year.”

“The improvements in energy and power densities demonstrated by the Alpha-2 prototypes indicate that QSE-5 can push the boundaries of solid-state battery performance,” said co-founder and CTO Tim Holme. “We continue to advance our anode-free, solid-state battery in performance and maturity with methodical execution on our milestones.”

Source: QuantumScape