Volkswagen has boosted its stake by $200 million in a San Jose, California, company that targets solid state battery technology, and the two partners are looking at setting up a pilot plant.
The German automaker, which is currently investing $800 million in its Chattanooga factory to make electric vehicles by 2022, said solid state batteries are expected to significantly increase range and shorten charging times.
VW already has invested more than $100 million in QuantumScape Corp. and is that company’s largest automotive shareholder.
“The additional investment will effectively strengthen and accelerate our joint development work,” said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Components’ chairman of the board of management.
Volkswagen and QuantumScape collaborated in a joint venture to enable industrial-level production of solid state batteries since 2018.