EV battery breakthrough claimed by VW & Bill Gates-backed startup

KUALA LUMPUR: Volkswagen and Bill Gates have come together to take the electric car charging to the next level. That is even better than the current benchmark set by Tesla and Porsche.

How do they plan to achieve this aspiring goal?

The duo has backed an American startup called QuantumScape that is developing a solid-state battery that is believed to reduce the charging time and increase energy density, thus improving the EVs range.

The said battery technology is labelled as ‘game-changing’ by the Tesla co-founder JB Straubel. Who at the press conference was quoted saying, “Seeing these performance numbers is almost unheard-of: roughly 50% improvement in volumetric energy density is incredible when we are used to seeing single-digit percent per year, and that was hard to achieve and a great outcome”

The QuantumScape battery in question uses lithium-metal chemistry that doesn’t need excess lithium on the unit anode, thus calling for a higher energy density for the given battery size.

What are the benefits of using QuantumScape developed solid-state batteries?

These batteries will improve the EVs driving range by almost double, thus putting them on the same pedestrian as the conventional cars.

These batteries can operate at a wide range of temperature, last for thousands of miles and are safe to use.

QuantumScape CEO, Jagdeep Singh said, “We believe that the performance data we’ve unveiled today shows that solid-state batteries have the potential to narrow the gap between electric vehicles and internal combustion vehicles and help enable EVs to become the world’s dominant form of transportation.” He further added, “In addition, the data shows QuantumScape battery technology is capable of lasting hundreds of thousands of miles, and is designed to operate at a wide range of temperatures, including results that show operation at -30 degrees Celsius.”

Who all have invested in QuantumScape?

The German automaker Volkswagen is amongst the top investors with over USD$300 million of investment. Also, SAIC Motor and Continental Tyre have invested their bit in the project.

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