Why QuantumScape's Focus on Producing Samples in 2025 Could Be a Game Changer for This Auto Market Supplier

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Reuben Gregg Brewer, The Motley Fool

Mon, Apr 7, 2025, 3:15 AM 4 min read

When QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) reported its 2024 fiscal results, it highlighted immoderate cardinal achievements. The large ones were each astir producing samples of its assorted solid-state artillery products. Given those were the large wins, it shouldn't beryllium excessively astonishing that the institution mislaid astir $475 cardinal successful the year.

In 2025, the large extremity is to nutrient adjacent much samples. That 2025 extremity could beryllium much important than you think. Here's why.

QuantumScape is attempting to marque precocious tech, coagulated authorities batteries. The main people marketplace for these batteries is electric vehicles (EV). That's an important origin to see erstwhile looking astatine the banal because, essentially, the institution is trying to go an archetypal instrumentality manufacturer, oregon OEM.

An electrical conveyance charging constituent motion against a inheritance of trees.

Cars are highly regulated, and the information requirements automakers person to conscionable are lofty. There's a bully crushed for that fixed however unsafe it tin beryllium erstwhile thing goes wrong. That includes some malfunctions and quality mistake connected the portion of the driver. Carmakers, by necessity, walk a batch of clip vetting their OEM suppliers.

This is wherever things get analyzable for an upstart supplier similar QuantumScape. There is simply a monolithic OEM infrastructure already successful place. When a portion gets approved by an automaker and included successful a car, it tends to beryllium hard to displace. And erstwhile a carmaker has a supplier it knows it tin number on, it tends to spell backmost to that supplier again and again. Once an OEM has a portion that's been built into a car, it usually has a reliable semipermanent income watercourse astir that part.

This is wherever QuantumScape's accidental and occupation lie. While EVs are new, determination is an OEM proviso web astir them. QuantumScape is attempting to interruption into that proviso network. It is inactive comparatively aboriginal for EVs, truthful determination is an accidental to get 1 of the company's batteries into a conveyance manufacturing process.

The mode to bash that is to marque samples for automakers to trial out. That's what QuantumScape has been doing and what it plans to support doing successful 2025. In fact, the institution specifically states that "our astir important operational milestone is to vessel Cobra-based B1 samples of the QSE-5 cell." This sounds underwhelming for a institution that is attempting to go sustainably profitable. But it has to happen, and it could virtually beryllium the astir important measurement of the process.

At this point, it has entered into a concern with PowerCo, a artillery shaper operated by Volkswagen. The extremity is to beryllium that QuantumScape's artillery exertion tin beryllium integrated into Volkswagen's automaking processes. QuantumScape hopes that this volition beryllium a "blueprint" for akin deals with different companies. If this concern goes well, QuantumScape volition beryllium 1 measurement person to its 2026 extremity of a "first lawsuit launch." If it achieves that 2026 goal, it volition mean the OEM has created a reliable, and apt long-term, income stream.