Gamingdeputy reported on March 28 that solid-state battery developer QuantumScape announced a major development. They delivered Alpha-2 solid-state battery prototype samples to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), aiming to commercialize and commercialize solid-state batteries. Eventually applied to electric vehicles.
According to Gamingdeputy, QuantumScape has been committed to developing scalable, high-energy-density solid-state batteries for more than a decade, with the goal of one day achieving cost parity with traditional lithium-ion batteries commonly used in electric vehicles.
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QuantumScape has made a number of advances over the past four years. They first developed a proprietary ceramic separator and used it to test single-layer prototype cells, then 10-layer cells, and later 16-layer prototype cells.
By the second quarter of 2022, QuantumScape's solid-state battery technology achieved a breakthrough, and the number of layers in its A0 sample battery had increased to 24. It is part of a series of three prototype cells, A, B and C, which will undergo internal and customer testing before entering commercial production.
In late 2022, QuantumScape began delivering the first batch of 24-layer A0 prototype cells to automotive partners, and in the first quarter of 2023, at least one unnamed electric vehicle OEM completed testing.
The samples performed beyond expectations, paving the way for a next-generation solid-state battery prototype called Alpha-2, which will eventually evolve into QuantumScape's first commercial product, the QSE-5 (shown below), which appears to Designed specifically for electric vehicle platforms. According to today's news, these Alpha-2 prototypes are being shipped to customers for testing.
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QuantumScape announced earlier today that it has begun delivering Alpha-2 prototype cells to customers, which will give OEMs the opportunity to test the progress QuantumScape has made over the past year.
QuantumScape said,Even with only 6 layers, Alpha-2 has a higher energy density than the 24-layer A0 prototype cellthanks to a higher loading of the cathode (more active material) and more efficient packaging.
QuantumScape said,Their latest Alpha-2 battery has key features of the QSE-5 final productis to provide customers (presumably part of the electric vehicle segment) with another opportunity to test key performance parameters and prototype reliability.
If QuantumScape can achieve mass production of QSE-5 solid-state batteries, it will become a disruptive technology in the field of electric vehicles. Tim Holme, co-founder and chief technology officer of the company, expressed excitement about the potential of this technology: “The energy and power density improvements demonstrated by the Alpha-2 prototype show that QSE-5 can push the boundaries of solid-state battery performance. We will continue to use We are taking steps to achieve our goals to advance the performance and maturity of our anode-free solid-state batteries.”
After achieving its initial delivery target of 2024, QuantumScape said it will begin launching the “Raptor” production process, starting with small batch production of QSE-5 prototypes. At the same time, they will also start preparing for large-scale production of solid electrolyte separators using “Cobra” equipment and processes, which is expected to start in 2025.