Inside the Battery Revolution

We saw in our earlier article on batteries that the development of lithium-ion batteries has been instrumental in the spread of electric vehicles across the world. This is because these batteries are light and have a higher energy density and voltage capacity compared to other types of batteries (nickel-cadmium or lead-acid batteries). Sony became the first company to incorporate lithium-ion batteries into their products. Lithium-ion batteries were also in the news recently when Whittingham, Goodenough, and Yoshino won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 for the invention of lithium-ion batteries. However, the future of batteries will perhaps lie in solid-state batteries, which have an advantage over lithium-ion batteries because of their improved safety and longer life. In this article, we will look at the story of two champion battery manufacturers: CATL, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer, and QuantumScape, a solid-state battery company.

CATL: A Pioneer

CATL or Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited was founded by Zeng Yuqun and Huang Shilin just 14 years ago, in 2011. CATL was born out of Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), which was also founded by Zeng Yuqun in 1999, and began supplying lithium-ion batteries to the smartphone industry almost immediately. ATL was acquired by Japanese firm TDK in 2005, mainly to feed the smartphone market. Compared to its parent ATL, CATL was far more ambitious and targeted the electric mobility market.

In its first big collaboration, CATL joined hands with BMW and the Chinese carmaker Brilliance to supply lithium-ion batteries to a new electric vehicle. This partnership also took advantage of the subsidies offered by the Chinese government for electric vehicles. In the collaboration with BMW, CATL engineers learned German engineering practices and their emphasis on precision. CATL also became adept at customising batteries for different makes and attempted to vertically integrate the company by acquiring battery material manufacturing firms. Soon, all the major automakers such as Volkswagen, Honda, and Nissan were queuing up at CATL’s doors. Today, CATL is the largest manufacturer and supplier of batteries to electric cars and buses.

QuantumScape: First Mover in Solid-State Batteries

As we saw in the earlier article on batteries, the next big shift will be toward solid-state batteries. These are similar to lithium-ion batteries, with the important difference that the electrolyte separator is a solid material. QuantumScape, an American company, is one of the pioneers in the field of such batteries. It was founded in 2010 by Jagdeep Singh, Tim Holme, and Prof. Fritz Prinz.

QuantumScape raised its initial funds from Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures and later from Bill Gates and Volkswagen. The company has developed a solid-state ceramic electrolyte to replace the liquid electrolyte in standard lithium-ion batteries. According to the company’s website, there is no anode to start with — the lithium anode is created in situ during the first charge. This innovation has reduced manufacturing costs and improved safety. It is expected that commercial production of these batteries will begin in early 2026, with the first batch, named QSE-5, ready to roll off the assembly line.

A test conducted by Volkswagen on a battery developed by QuantumScape found that it retained 95% of its capacity even after 1,000 charging cycles — which means the same battery can travel up to 500,000 km. On a single charge, the mileage was found to be about 700–800 km. This high energy density, coupled with long life and increased range, seems to have solved many of the problems associated with liquid electrolyte batteries.

Conclusion

Batteries are key to green mobility as well as energy storage. We looked at the success achieved by CATL as the leading manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries in the world. The future, however, belongs to solid-state batteries — and in this area, QuantumScape stands as one of the pioneers.