Quantumcape has integrated its “cobra” process, reducing production time in the solid state

The Developer of Semiconductor Batteries QuanttumSCAPE has shared another exciting step today: to integrate its long-term “COBRA” semiconductor manufacturing process in its reference production. This step technology considerably reduces the overall imprint and the production time of cells to the solid state owners of quantumcape, preparing the way for marketed production.

A large part of our QuantumCape updates the last two years have concerned the progression of its QSE-5 semiconductor samples cells (because, let’s face it, this is the most exciting thing). However, some of the quantumcape production techniques are just as innovative as its cellular technology.

In many ways, the quantumcape cream of its semiconductor harvest is its assembly chains, especially since the most difficult obstacle for the integration of semiconductor battery in good faith is the production on a scale at a cost that OEMs will be ready to opt for lithium cells, which will not go to the company either.

We have known these plans since 2023, when Quantumcape has shared two phases of its revision of its mounting chain using a fast -separator – Raptor and Cobra heat treatment process.

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Raptor was completed two years ago and introduced a process of change of steps, allowing the continuous heat treatment of the flow to treat the films of the separator more quickly with less total thermal energy. The next phase, “Cobra”, had to build Raptor and add an even faster treatment, especially in the ceramic of the cell. According to the semiconductor battery developer, Cobra is a “potential game changer in cell production on a scale”.

At the beginning of 2024, QuantumCape began to prepare for a high volume production of its electrolyte separator in the solid state using the equipment and the “Cobra” process, and last December, was ready for the initial treatment of the separator on the qs-0 mounting chain for sample cells B.

Quantumcape has confirmed that Cobra has been fully integrated into the company’s reference production processes, achieving a 2025 objective while allowing the production of Gigawatt levels in solid level.

The Cobra separator of Quantumcape is the secret production sauce ‘

“What is so special in a semiconductor separator process?” Well, a lot in fact.

The Quantumcape team will be the first to tell you that its proprietary solid state separator is the proverbial key that unlocks the leading and potentially changing performance of industry in energy density, charge times, battery life, safety and cost.

We all know that semiconductor battery technology has the potential to allow a paradigm shift in electric mobility, providing cars, planes, boats and many other vessels with cells that will allow them to travel further than ever. This technology has often been considered a “holy grail” for electric mobility and although certain companies, including Quantumcape, have developed cells in a viable solid state, none has yet changed to mass production.

As we have reported several times in the past, Quantumcape remains a leader in space that one of the companies that seems to be closest to the realization of the feat, thanks to its raptor manufacturing processes and now Cobra.

Hence the reason why today’s news is a big problem.

In addition to unlocking the production potential of cells in the solid state itself, Quantumcape affirms that Cobra is basic innovation that will allow technology to be manufactured on a gigawatt-hour scale. This breakthrough should lay the foundations for the production of B1 samples with higher volume and the startup market.

In addition, the technology supports the quantumcape license model with Volkswagen Group, which was announced a year ago. In this model, the manufacturing of contracts can potentially help to avoid prices by transferring intellectual property to the place of physical goods, especially since the battery demand continues to grow regularly despite geopolitical tensions.

For the future, we will see how Cobra contributes to the progression of the production of quantumcape in 2025, hoping to obtain a more concrete chronology when its semiconductor batteries could arrive on the electric vehicle market.