EV Battery Manufacturer QuantumScape Stock Is Soaring On Thursday - Here's Why

On Thursday, Volkswagen Group’s battery company PowerCo and QuantumScape Corp QS have agreed to industrialize QuantumScape’s next-generation solid-state lithium-metal battery technology.

QuantumScape stock gained after the deal announcement.

QuantumScape will grant PowerCo the license to mass-produce battery cells based on QuantumScape’s technology platform upon satisfactory technical progress and certain royalty payments.

Under the non-exclusive license, PowerCo can manufacture up to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year using QuantumScape’s technology, with the option to expand up to 80 GWh annually.

This capacity is enough to outfit approximately one million vehicles per year.

The agreement supersedes a joint venture between the Volkswagen Group and QuantumScape to co-manufacture batteries.

The agreement creates a highly collaborative partnership that leverages QuantumScape’s cutting-edge technology and PowerCo’s global capabilities in industrialization and manufacturing facilities.

Together, the companies will target a product scaled up for integration into a Volkswagen Group vehicle series.

Frank Blome stepped down from QuantumScape’s board of directors to lead PowerCo in this next crucial phase of collaboration with QuantumScape.

Since 2020, Blome has served on the board as one of the two members designated by the Volkswagen Group, which remains QuantumScape’s largest shareholder. QuantumScape will announce his successor on the board in the coming months.

In April, QuantumScape reported a first-quarter EPS loss of $(0.24), which met the analyst consensus.

It ended the quarter with $1.01 billion in liquidity and expects its cash runway to extend into the second half of 2026.  The company held its fiscal 2024 capital expenditure guidance of $70 million – $120 million.

Price Action: QS shares traded higher by 39.4% at $7.54 premarket at the last check on Thursday.

Image: Courtesy of QuantumScape Corporation