QuantumScape stock jumps as cobra solid‑state battery process hits production

Shares of QuantumScape Corp. (QS) surged in premarket trading on Wednesday as the company announced a breakthrough in its solid-state lithium-metal battery technology, according to Yahoo Finance. The San Jose-based electric vehicle battery developer has successfully integrated its Cobra separator process into baseline production, marking a significant milestone in its production capabilities.

The Cobra separator process enhances manufacturing speeds and improves energy efficiency, according to BusinessWire. This innovation allows for a smaller production footprint while boosting throughput, essential for scaling up to gigawatt production levels. "By significantly improving throughput and shrinking the equipment footprint, Cobra gives us a powerful path forward for commercializing our next-generation battery technology," said Dr. Siva Sivaram, QuantumScape CEO, in the report.

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The news sent QuantumScape shares soaring by 27.4% to $5.52 on Wednesday morning, as reported by Benzinga. This is a notable recovery for the stock that had previously been down 17% this year. The company's stock hit $6.35 in early trading, highlighting investor confidence in the company's future potential with this new technological advancement.

Introduced as a successor to the previous Raptor process, Cobra offers a substantial 25-fold improvement in heat treatment speed while occupying less space per film start. "This advancement is central to bringing our high-performance solid-state battery platform to market at gigawatt scale," said Tim Holme, QuantumScape co-founder and CTO, in the announcement.

With the Cobra platform replacing the Raptor, QuantumScape aims to enhance production speed, efficiency, and scalability, paving the way for higher-volume production of its B1 cell samples. As the company continues to integrate future iterations of Cobra, this move is expected to significantly reduce costs while enhancing the efficiency of battery manufacturing processes.

This milestone aligns with QuantumScape's mission to revolutionize energy storage solutions, supporting the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future.