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| Period | Total liquidity ($M) | Quarterly burn ($M) | TTM burn ($M) | Computed runway (months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2022 | 1,348.5 | -47.4 | -153.8 | 105 |
| Q2 2022 | 1,268.1 | -51.3 | -172.2 | 88 |
| Q3 2022 | 1,155.3 | -56.4 | -199.7 | 69 |
| Q4 2022 | 1,061.7 | -62.9 | -218 | 58 |
| Q1 2023 | 983.1 | -62.3 | -232.9 | 51 |
| Q2 2023 | 909.7 | -57.7 | -239.3 | 46 |
| Q3 2023 | 1,127.4 | -62.6 | -245.5 | 55 |
| Q4 2023 | 1,070.8 | -57.5 | -240 | 54 |
| Q1 2024 | 1,009.6 | -57.9 | -235.7 | 51 |
| Q2 2024 | 937.9 | -65.2 | -243.1 | 46 |
| Q3 2024 | 841 | -92.8 | -273.4 | 37 |
| Q4 2024 | 910.8 | -58.7 | -274.6 | 40 |
| Q1 2025 | 860.3 | -60.7 | -277.4 | 37 |
| Q2 2025 | 797.5 | -61.8 | -274 | 35 |
| Q3 2025 | 1,003.7 | -63.7 | -245 | 49 |
| Q4 2025 | 970.8 | -56.1 | -242.5 | 48 |
| Q1 2026 | 904.7 | -59.5 | -241.2 | 45 |
| Q2 2026 | 859 | -56.7 | -236.1 | 44 |
| Period | Milestone | Printed figure | What was printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 A0 shipments | First A0 prototype cells to OEMs | Multiple OEMs | 10-Q/10-K: shipped first A0 prototype battery cells to multiple OEMs for testing. No cell-count or GWh print. |
| 2023 QSE-5 announced | First targeted commercial product | Approximately 5 amp-hours | QSE-5 is the planned first product. Exact layer count and dimensions depend on customer specifications. |
| 2024 B-sample QSE-5 | Low-volume B-sample production and automotive shipments | Over 800 Wh/L; under 15-minute 10% to 80% | 10-K also says B0 samples of QSE-5 were shipped in 2024. Energy density and fast-charge figures are printed performance marks, not a shipment volume. |
| Jun 2025 Cobra baseline | Cobra separator process in cell-production baseline | Baselined | Q4 2025 letter: Cobra integrated into the cell production baseline in June 2025. Intended to improve separator throughput, efficiency, footprint, and scalability. Not a GWh shipment. |
| Sep 2025 B1 and Ducati | Cobra-based QSE-5 B1 samples and Ducati V21L demo | B1 samples; live vehicle demo | Q3 2025 letter: began shipping Cobra-based QSE-5 B1 samples. 8 September 2025 IAA Mobility: Ducati V21L race motorcycle powered by QSE-5, a VW Group launch program with Ducati, Audi, and PowerCo. No GWh print. |
| YE 2025 Eagle Line installed | Automated pilot cell line in San Jose | Installed | 2025 annual goal completed: Eagle Line equipment installed. Intended for customer sampling, process development, QSE-5 output, and technology transfer. Not a commercial GWh factory. |
| Feb 4 2026 inauguration | Eagle Line inauguration and initial ramp | Inaugurated | Company release and 10-Q: inaugurated 4 February 2026 and began initial ramp. Incorporates the Cobra separator process. |
| Q1 2026 start-up | Eagle Line start-up operations | Initial QSE-5 volumes | Q1 2026 letter: installation complete, start-up commenced, producing initial volumes of QSE-5 cells. No unit or GWh count printed. |
| Q2 2026 ramp | Eagle Line productivity and sample shipments | Core-tool uptime greater than 90% | Q2 2026 letter: key productivity metrics at target; ramping cell volumes and shipping samples. Cobra shown producing larger-area separators for higher-capacity designs. H2 2026 output-doubling language is an aim, not stored here. |
| Period | Counterparty | Printed status | What was printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-present Volkswagen | Volkswagen Group / PowerCo | Anchor OEM and major investor | Volkswagen has invested approximately $380 million. PowerCo is Volkswagen's battery-cell subsidiary and the QSE-5 industrialization partner. See the PowerCo payments table for deal dollars. |
| Sep 8 2025 Ducati V21L | Ducati (VW Group launch program) | Live vehicle demonstration | IAA Mobility, Munich. QSE-5 B1 cells in a Ducati V21L race motorcycle, with Audi and PowerCo. A VW Group showcase, not a separately counted OEM. |
| Sep 30 2025 Corning | Corning Incorporated | Ceramic separator manufacturing agreement | Q3 2025 letter: agreement to jointly develop ceramic separator manufacturing based on Cobra. Ecosystem partner, not an OEM vehicle program. |
| 2025 Murata next phase | Murata Manufacturing | Subsequent contract after initial phase | Q3 2025 letter: completed the initial collaboration phase, signed a subsequent contract, and progressed to the next phase. Cobra separator scale-up. |
| 2025 two added OEMs | Two major global automotive OEMs (unnamed) | New JDA and technology evaluation | Q4 2025 letter: added two major global automotive OEMs, announcing new joint development and technology evaluation agreements. Names are not printed in the sources used here. |
| Q1 2026 OEM evaluation | Unnamed Top-10 automotive OEM | Technology evaluation completed | Q1 2026 letter: evaluation included hands-on testing and competitive benchmarking. Next phase described as joint development. The letter does not name the OEM. |
| Jun 18 2026 Honda | Honda R&D Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor) | Multi-year joint research agreement | PR and Q2 2026 letter: after Honda completed a technology evaluation. Aimed at automotive and other Honda applications. Q2 letter counts Honda among four Top-10 OEM customers. |
| Q2 2026 other Top-10 JDAs | Two other Top-10 automotive OEMs (unnamed) | Existing joint development agreements | Q2 2026 letter: working with two other Top-10 OEM customers under existing JDAs, plus Honda and Volkswagen / PowerCo, for four Top-10 OEM customers in total. Names not printed. |
| Q2 2026 additional OEM shipment | Additional automotive OEM (unnamed) | Cells shipped | Q2 2026 letter: shipped cells to an additional automotive OEM customer. No unit or GWh count. |
| Q2 2026 QSAS defense prime | Major American defense prime (unnamed) | QSE-5 cells shipped | Q2 2026 letter, QSAS vertical. Engaged with global aerospace and defense players. No unit count. QSDC is engaged with ODMs on QSE-5 for AI data centers; that is engagement, not a shipment print. |
| Period | Printed mark | Amount or status | What was printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2025 VW investment | Volkswagen Group investment (cumulative) | Approximately $380 million | 10-K 2025: Volkswagen has invested approximately $380 million over the last ten years. Volkswagen is a major investor. Not a PowerCo program payment. |
| Jul 5 2024 Collaboration Agreement | QSE-5 industrialization + IP license framework | $130 million royalty prepay (not yet received) | Subject to technical milestones and entry into the IP License Agreement. License for automotive cells at PowerCo facilities up to 40 GWh per year, expandable by an additional 40 GWh. Concurrent JV termination released a $134 million earmark. License GWh is a right, not shipments. |
| Jul 17 2025 PowerCo Amendment | Amended and Restated Collaboration Agreement plus statement of work | Up to $130.7 million Project contributions over two years | Joint scale-up team at the San Jose pilot line. Amount is in addition to the $130 million royalty prepay. IP license amended to a potential maximum 85 GWh per year (not shipments). |
| Q4 2025 cash received | Cash received under collaboration agreement (related party) | $19.526 million | Q4 and FY 2025 cash-flow line. Recorded to equity because of the related-party relationship. Matches FY 2025 customer billings of $19.5 million. Not GAAP product revenue. |
| Q1 2026 cash received | PowerCo collaboration receipts | None | Q1 2026 10-Q: there were no such payments from PowerCo during the three months ended 31 March 2026. |
| Q2 2026 cash received | PowerCo capital contribution | $10.353 million | Received in the three and six months ended 30 June 2026. Recorded as additional paid-in capital. No shares issued. Financing inflow, not operating cash. |
| Jul 16 2026 2026 Amendment | Program restructured to milestone payments | $75.4 million maximum, inclusive of amounts paid to date | Replaces the prior statement of work and cost-reimbursement structure. Milestones include delivery and validation of battery cells over the next two years. Statement of Work No. 1 terminated. The 8-K does not say the $130 million IP-license royalty prepay was cancelled. |
Founded by Jagdeep Singh, Tim Holme, and Stanford Professor Fritz Prinz as Infinite Power Storage in Stanford GSB's StartX accelerator: initial focus on solid-state lithium-metal anode-free architecture using ceramic separator. Tim Holme's PhD at Prinz Lab on atomic-layer-deposition solid electrolytes is the IP foundation; renamed QuantumScape 2012.
Volkswagen invested $100M and formed automotive-industrialisation JV (later Powerco) to take QuantumScape's anode-free, lithium-metal solid-state cells from lab to scale. Initial QS cell test data showed >0.5 Ah capacity with sub-2 mAh/cm2 areal capacity. VW commitment of additional $200M tied to QS milestones: anchor customer for the next 7+ years.
Went public on NYSE via Kensington Capital SPAC merger at ~$3.3B implied valuation: raised ~$1B gross. Stock spikes to $130 (Dec 2020), >40x SPAC trust value, putting QS on $50B+ market cap briefly. The defining SPAC battery boom event; a year later valuation collapses 90% on commercialization-timeline reset.
First public solid-state cell test data: single-layer cells held >80% capacity over 800 cycles at 1C charge/discharge, with >300 Wh/kg projected at the cell level. Demonstrated 15-min 0-80% fast charge with anode-free architecture. Set the technical reference benchmark for solid-state automotive viability.
Shipped first 24-layer prototype solid-state cells to automotive customers (VW Powerco, undisclosed others) for testing: capacity scale from 10 Ah single-layer cells. Major step from lab demonstration to vehicle-relevant cell formats.
Delivered Alpha-2 prototype cells to Volkswagen PowerCo for B-sample evaluation: multi-layer cells with improved cycle life (~1,000 cycles to 80%). PowerCo's industrial-engineering team transitions cells through B-sample qualification at Salzgitter; A-sample → B-sample progression critical for 2027 pilot vehicle integration.
Signed expanded license with Volkswagen PowerCo: non-exclusive license for 80 GWh/yr planned solid-state production at Salzgitter. License-and-royalty structure: $130M upfront + per-Wh royalty payments. Signals VW commitment to solid-state at industrial scale despite Powerco organisational reset.
Cobra separator-fabrication process baselined in San Jose, replacing legacy Raptor process: unblocks B-sample manufacturing scale-up. Throughput improvement >10x with material yield gains; critical step toward Powerco Salzgitter pilot-line tech transfer 2026.
Powerco Salzgitter pilot solid-state line tech-transfer initiated: Cobra-baseline separators shipped to Germany; 10 MWh QS-licensed pilot capacity targeted 2027. First QuantumScape industrial-scale ASSB production outside San Jose.