Until now, QuantumScape has produced cells only on pilot equipment in San Jose. Muehlbauer, a German automation specialist, will supply the assembly machinery for a 100 megawatt-hour line, and QuantumScape aims to start producing cells in 2028, according to its release. The buyers it has in mind are AI data center operators and aerospace and defense contractors, markets it began courting in earnest only this year.
The announcement caps a year spent proving the pilot could run. Since its inauguration in February, the Eagle Line pilot has carried most of the company's customer sampling. The planned line would mark QuantumScape's first commercial-scale mass production, with output earmarked for its data center and advanced solutions units, the company told shareholders. Muehlbauer engineers studied those pilot processes on site and drew up design changes for mass production.
Money remains the question that shadows every battery start-up. QuantumScape has no product revenue and reports customer billings instead, a metric GAAP does not count as revenue. Its model still rests on collaboration payments and technology licenses, such as its arrangement with PowerCo. Shares rose in after-hours trading on the news, following a steep decline over the year, MarketWatch reported.