Osprey: New solid-state EV battery charges in five minutes at 176°F, lasts 1,000 cycles

QuantumScape unveiled an all-solid-state battery platform on November 11 after early tests showed its cells could complete 1,000 full charge cycles at one atmosphere of pressure. The San Jose, California-based company said the cells retained about 80 percent of original capacity over the test. Called Osprey, the platform combines QuantumScape’s ceramic separator and anode-free lithium-metal design with a solid cathode. The company said its results represent the first publicly available data showing a cell with a sulfide-based cathode cycling 1,000 times at that pressure. Reducing the pressure needed to operate these cells could help address a longstanding obstacle to using them in electric vehicles. Tackling the pressure problem Battery developers have long explored sulfide-based electrolytes for all-solid-state cells, but two problems have complicated efforts to commercialize them. Sulfides can react with lithium metal, shortening a cell’s life. Cells that use sulfides also typically need to be held under high pressure during operation, a requirement that makes them difficult to use in vehicles. Osprey builds on QuantumScape’s existing QSE platform. It carries over the ceramic separator and anode-free lithium-metal design and adds an all-solid cathode. QuantumScape designed the platform to work with a range of cathode chemistries and has tested it with solid cathodes developed both in-house and by its automotive customers. “The industry has invested heavily in sulfide-based batteries but keeps hitting the same fundamental limits. As the data shows, Osprey can address these limitations,” said Siva Sivaram, QuantumScape’s president and CEO. Charging to 80% in five minutes In early testing, Osprey cells charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in five minutes, according to QuantumScape. The company also reported that the cells could operate at temperatures below −4°F (−20°C). It published the results and test conditions in a white paper released alongside the announcement. QuantumScape projects that the design could reach a volumetric energy density of about 1,100 watt-hours per liter. That figure describes how much energy the cell could store in a given volume. The company attributes the potential for faster charging and a wider operating temperature range to the combination of its ceramic separator and the solid cathode. Opening the platform to battery developers QuantumScape is already working with automotive partners on Osprey. The company said the platform creates licensing and joint development opportunities for existing customers and extends its offering to developers working on sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries. The ability to test cathodes supplied by customers gives those partners a way to evaluate their own materials in QuantumScape’s cell design. “We believe Osprey can unlock the full potential of all-solid-state batteries, and our goal is to make it the leading platform for solid-state battery development,” Sivaram said. QuantumScape is currently shipping QSE-based cells to customers. It described Osprey as its longer-term platform for all-solid-state battery development. The company’s tests with both internally developed and customer-supplied cathodes give it a starting point for pursuing multiple cell designs as it works with partners on the new platform.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Atharva is a full-time content writer with a post-graduate degree in media & amp; entertainment and a graduate degree in electronics & telecommunications. He has written in the sports and technology domains respectively. In his leisure time, Atharva loves learning about digital marketing and watching soccer matches. His main goal behind joining Interesting Engineering is to learn more about how the recent technological advancements are helping human beings on both societal and individual levels in their daily lives.