QuantumScape unveils beating heart of its solid-state battery tech: the FlexFrame cell [Video]

Solid-state battery developer QuantumScape has provided further evidence that it’s the real deal in eventually achieving scaled cell production that could one day enable EV modules that are safer, charge faster, and go farther. In the YouTube video below, QuantumScape explains the design of its FlexFrame battery cell, which expands and contracts… similar to a beating heart.

While it will likely still be quite a while before we see QuantumScape’s ($QS) solid-state battery technology in EVs available for purchase, the startup appears more poised than ever to be the one who finally cracks the code in reaching not only scaled production but seamless integration with current assembly practices and ideally, at or near cost parity with current lithium-ion cells.

It was 2022 when the advanced battery technology company first introduced the public to its 24-layer A0 prototype cells before sending them off to automotive partners for testing. In Q1 2023, we learned QuantumScape’s first commercial product would be a 5 amp-hour solid-state lithium metal battery cell we’ve learned is called the QSE-5.

Since then, QuantumScape has touted one performance milestone after another, achieving higher energy densities and exceeding its own targets. Earlier this month, PowerCo – the battery arm of longtime QuantumScape investor Volkswagen Group, confirmed the encouraging performance of the former’s A0 prototype cells via its own testing, providing further confidence in the technology as a viable improvement to current EV battery cells.

In a video posted today, QuantumScape digs into the design of the A0 prototype battery cells that enable the commercial design in the works. Here’s FlexFrame.

QuantumScape explains its proprietary battery design

The YouTube video below features detailed explanations from QuantumScape’s principal product lead, Chris Dekmezian, senior director of cell design & manufacturing, Daniel Braithwaite, plus associate professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, and QuantumScape consultant, Venkat Viswanathan.

The three individuals do an excellent job of clearly and concisely explaining how QuantumScape’s unique FlexFrame design works, what benefits the cells and their components serve, and what sort of nuances still need to be figured out before we see these cells packed into modules for passenger vehicles.

FlexFrame offers a unique battery solution that combines prismatic and pouch cell designs to safely handle the expansion and contraction of the solid-state battery during charging and discharging. All while giving QuantumScape’s lithium batteries the environment to perfect at their best. Check it out.

There are truthfully dozens of juicy tidbits here we’d love to quote for you, but genuinely think the information is best served straight from the mouths of the experts.

While terms like “solid-state lithium metal” and “hosted anodes” may sound like intimidating terms, the guys at QuantumScape do an amazing job explaining the technology in great detail alongside the nuances already being addressed, looking forward to commercial production.

Take it away guys…