QuantumScape Launches Osprey All-Solid-State Battery Platform with 1,000 Charge Cycle Capability

QuantumScape announced its all-solid-state battery platform on November 11, with early tests indicating that its battery cells can retain approximately 80% of their original capacity after 1,000 full charge cycles at atmospheric pressure. The platform, named Osprey, combines QuantumScape's ceramic separator and a lithium metal design without an anode, equipped with a solid-state cathode. The company noted that its results represent the first publicly available data showing a sulfide-based cathode achieving 1,000 cycles under this pressure.

Addressing the Challenges of All-Solid-State Batteries

Reducing the pressure required to operate these batteries will help address long-standing barriers to their use in electric vehicles.

Addressing the Pressure Issue Battery developers have long explored sulfide-based electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries, but two issues have complicated commercialization. Sulfides can react with lithium metal, shortening the battery's lifespan. Battery cells using sulfides typically require high pressure during operation, making their use in vehicles challenging. Osprey builds on QuantumScape's existing QSE platform, inheriting the ceramic separator and lithium metal design without an anode, while adding a solid-state cathode.

QuantumScape designed the platform to accommodate various cathode chemistries and has conducted internal testing of solid-state cathodes developed with its automotive customers. QuantumScape's President and CEO Siva Sivaram stated, "The industry has invested heavily in sulfide-based batteries but has always encountered the same fundamental limitations. The data shows that Osprey can address these limitations."

Five Minutes to 80% According to QuantumScape's report, Osprey battery cells can charge from 10% to 80% in five minutes during early tests. The company also reported that these battery cells can operate at temperatures below −4°F (−20°C). It released a white paper detailing the results and testing conditions in its announcement. QuantumScape expects the volumetric energy density of this design to reach approximately 1,100 watt-hours per liter, a figure that describes the energy a battery can store in a given volume.

Open Platform Promotes Collaboration

The company attributes the potential for faster charging and a wider operational temperature range to the combination of its ceramic separator and solid-state cathode.

Open Platform for Battery Developers QuantumScape has begun collaborating with automotive partners on Osprey. The company stated that the platform creates licensing and co-development opportunities for existing customers and expands its product offerings to developers working on sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries. The ability to test cathodes provided by customers allows these partners to evaluate their materials within QuantumScape's battery design.

Sivaram stated, "We believe Osprey can unlock the full potential of all-solid-state batteries, and our goal is to make it the leading platform for solid-state battery development." QuantumScape is currently shipping QSE-based battery cells to customers. It describes Osprey as its long-term all-solid-state battery development platform. The tests conducted on internally developed and customer-supplied cathodes provide a starting point for collaboration with partners in pursuing various battery designs on the new platform.

Item	Specification
Battery Capacity	1,100 watt-hours per liter
Charging Time	Five minutes to 80%
Operating Temperature	Below −20°C

Potential Impact of the Osprey Platform

QuantumScape's Osprey platform not only showcases advancements in all-solid-state battery technology but also addresses long-standing issues of lifespan and pressure that have plagued electric vehicles. By reducing operational pressure, Osprey is expected to improve the commercialization prospects of sulfide batteries and provide more collaboration opportunities for battery developers. This open-platform design will enable automakers to test and develop their materials, further driving innovation and application of all-solid-state batteries.