BERLIN -- Volkswagen Group is increasing its stake in American battery company QuantumScape by up to $200 million to boost the development of solid-state battery technology that aims to increase the ranges of electric cars and shorten charging times, the automaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
VW said that plans for a pilot plant were expected to be firmed up in the course of this year.
VW has been collaborating with QuantumScape since 2012 and is the company's largest automotive shareholder with its previous investment of over $100 million.
The automaker said the additional investment and the associated increase of its stake in the U.S. company is still subject to "various conditions."
