QuantumScape plans a solid-state battery line with a stated capacity of 100 megawatt-hours (MWh) for AI data centers, aerospace and defense, with a German equipment supplier joining the manufacturing effort.
On Oct. 8, QuantumScape introduced QS PowerBlock, a reference design for storing energy inside AI data-center racks and supporting an 800-volt direct-current architecture. The company said controlled prototype tests and modeled configurations produced power density four times the Open Compute Project’s Open Rack V3 benchmark, with runtime five times as long. It cautioned that final performance could vary with product design, system configuration and operating conditions. QuantumScape describes PowerBlock as an application for its solid-state lithium-metal battery technology.
QuantumScape said its Eagle Line pilot in San Jose has been used to test manufacturing methods for the planned line. Muehlbauer Group, a German automation and manufacturing technology company, will provide cell-assembly equipment after reviewing the pilot processes. The supplier prepared design revisions for larger production volumes, while engineering work now covers equipment and methods intended to increase cell output. Muehlbauer Group CEO Josef Markus Mühlbauer said the pilot showed the technology was “ready to scale to the next level.”
A study examined whether data-center growth coincided with renewable-energy investment. Authors Alexander Heiss, Zacharias Sautner and Thomas Schmid found that solar and battery project announcements rose more in U.S. regions with the largest data-center capacity before ChatGPT’s release than in comparison areas. Those regions held 93% of U.S. data-center capacity in the third quarter of 2022, according to the researchers’ analysis. EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the study described the regional comparison.
QuantumScape’s Oct. 21 announcement did not state whether the line’s 100 MWh capacity is annual or disclose its location, cost, customers or purchase commitments. The company lists manufacturing expansion, partner performance and commercial production requirements among the risks. It targets the start of cell production in 2028.
