EV Rivals Are Closing in— Can QuantumScape and Volkswagen Bring Solid-State Batteries to Market First? |
EV Rivals Are Closing in— Can QuantumScape and Volkswagen Bring Solid-State Batteries to Market First?
QuantumScape just announced a production milestone for its solid-state batteries.
BY KRISTIN SHAW, FREELANCE WRITER
After 10 years, more than two million tests, 200+ patents and applications, and more than $1.5 billion in funding, QuantumScape has reached a critical step in its race for the holy grail of EV technology: solid-state batteries.
The only catch is that the company—founded in 2010 by Tim Holme, Jagdeep Singh, and Fritz B. Prinz—has not fully conquered the process for wide distribution.
Instead, QuantumScape is moving forward as an incubator of sorts, providing a manufacturing blueprint for its customers to follow. In February the company rolled out the red carpet to celebrate its new highly automated production line at its plant in San Jose, California. The Eagle Line is designed to allow QuantumScape customers like Volkswagen, which is also one of QuantumScape’s biggest investors, to test, prepare, and manufacture solid-state batteries in its own facilities.
But even with customer partners, scaling will neither be easy nor cheap. On February 11, QuantumScape reported capital expenditures in the fourth quarter were $12.3 million, primarily to cover facilities and equipment purchased for the Eagle Line. For the full year of 2025, out-the-door costs totaled $36 million. In 2026, the company expects to spend even more, totaling between $40 million and $60 million.
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The production line is a signal of momentum, one that some expert bodies are calling a critical juncture for research and investment in solid-state batteries. It’s the sort of tipping point, according to CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, “often seen just before major breakthroughs and widespread adoption.”
QuantumScape might have momentum, but can it help get solid-state EV batteries to market before other automakers?
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Invented in the late 1970s, the lithium-ion battery was first used commercially by Sony to power its ubiquitous HandyCam video camera in 1991. Today, this technology is the standard for everything from iPhones to EVs.