QuantumScape plans 100 MWh battery line for data centers and defense
Key Facts
QuantumScape announced plans on October 21, 2026, to establish a 100 MWh solid-state battery cell production line to serve markets including AI data centers, aerospace and defense. The company said in a statement that Germany's Mühlbauer Group would supply cell assembly equipment for the planned line, expanding applications for its technology beyond the automotive sector. The group was selected following its assessment of operations at the "Eagle" pilot line and development of improvements aimed at scaling up production. QuantumScape opened the "Eagle" line in San Jose on February 4, 2026. The line incorporates the company's "Cobra" separator production process, part of its battery technology. The pilot line serves as a model to demonstrate that licensing partners can manufacture the technology at their own facilities, according to the company's announcement at its opening.
The manufacturing update came as QuantumScape reported continued losses in the third quarter of 2026, though they narrowed from the year-earlier period. According to the company's shareholder letter, its quarterly net loss was $84.477 million, compared with $105.824 million in the third quarter of 2025. The company posted an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $60.7 million, which it said was in line with management expectations. Capital expenditure during the quarter totaled $4.4 million, according to the financial update accompanying its business developments. The company ended the period on September 30, 2026, with liquidity of $819.8 million.
In its dealings with customers and partners, QuantumScape recorded billings of $9.8 million in the third quarter, according to the shareholder letter. The company defines this metric as the value of invoices issued, regardless of their accounting treatment, so it does not equate to accounting revenue. During the period, it recorded its first billings related to its agreement with Honda, a development in the companies' collaboration program. Its defense, aerospace and advanced solutions business also recorded its first customer billings, as transactions began to emerge in the markets the company is targeting beyond automobiles. QuantumScape said it shipped samples to customers in the defense, aerospace and telecommunications sectors.
In the automotive sector, QuantumScape signed an agreement with a new customer that is a major global manufacturer in the mobility sector, according to the shareholder letter. The agreement aims to advance commercialization of automotive applications as part of the company's work with mobility manufacturers. Its joint program with Honda includes a "multiyear plan focused on developing solid-state batteries and associated manufacturing processes," according to the partnership announcement. Before the research agreement, Honda completed a hands-on technical evaluation of QuantumScape's technology. That evaluation included competitive comparisons using standardized technical tests, according to the same statement.
For data center applications, QuantumScape said its "QS Power Block" design demonstrated power density 4 times the Open Compute Project reference specification in prototype tests and modeled system configurations under controlled conditions. It added that runtime reached 5 times that of the reference specification, as part of the performance results it announced for the design. The design supports an 800-volt direct-current architecture. It targets 1 MW data center racks when paired with advanced power system components, according to the product announcement. On safety, the company said its cells demonstrated thermal stability at temperatures well above 300 degrees Celsius in tests conducted by customers and third parties. It compared this with what it described as the typical catastrophic thermal runaway of conventional cells near 180 degrees Celsius. It also announced that it had joined the Open Compute Project to work with industry companies on developing open infrastructure standards.
For fiscal 2026, QuantumScape maintained its forecast for an adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between $250 million and $275 million. It also held its annual capital expenditure forecast at between $27 million and $37 million, according to the shareholder letter. In the next milestone for developing automotive applications, the company plans to unveil details of its next technology platform in Kyoto on November 11, 2026. The presentation will include its collaboration model with automotive customers, according to the letter. As for the new cell production line, the company said in its plan announcement that "the start of cell production is targeted for 2028."