An online event hosted by solid-state battery company QuantumScape left a panel of experts in awe as dramatic improvements in key performance criteria were revealed.

New York-headquartered QuantumScape plans to industrialise solid-state battery technology, which promises to improve the driving range, durability and safety of electric vehicles (EVs). The company has been in operation since 2010 and has raised around US$1.5bn in funding to date. A joint venture with Volkswagen Group, the company’s largest automotive investor, has been set up to produce these cells in future.

In a live-streamed ‘Solid-State Battery Showcase’ held on 8 December, the company’s founder and Chief Executive, Jagdeep Singh, brought together a panel of experts to reflect on the findings of a recent round of independent tests carried out by a range of customers, including “the world’s largest tech companies and automakers.” He also underlined the importance of solid-state technology. Today’s EVs are not appealing enough for many drivers, he said, because lithium-ion batteries “do not work like we want them to.” The solution, he says, is solid-state technology.

The solution

Most batteries today…