QuantumScape Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
February 14, 2024

There are 10 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to QuantumScape's 4th Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. John Sager, QuantumScape's Vice President of Capital Markets and FP and A, you may begin your conference.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, and thank you to everyone for joining QuantumScape's Q4 2023 earnings call. To supplement today's discussion, please go to our IR website at ir.quantumscape.com to view our shareholder letter. Before we begin, I want to call your attention to the Safe Harbor provision for forward looking statements that is posted on our website as part of our quarterly update. Forward looking statements generally relate to future events, future technology progress or future financial or operating performance.

Speaker 1

Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize. Actual results and financial periods are subject to risks uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. There are risk factors that may cause actual results to differ from the content of our forward looking statement for the reasons that we cite in our shareholder letter, Form 10 ks and other SEC filings, including uncertainties posed by the difficulty in predicting future outcomes. Joining us today will be QuantumScape's Co Founder, CEO and Chairman, Jagdeep Singh our CFO, Kevin Hetrick and Doctor. Siva Sivaram, President.

Speaker 1

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jaydeep.

Speaker 2

Thanks, John. Since our founding, our mission has been simple, revolutionize energy storage and enable a more sustainable future. Reflecting on this journey, We've made remarkable progress towards commercializing solid state lithium metal batteries from the single layer pouch cells we showed in December 2020 all the way to our 24 layer A0 cells shipped in December 2022. The best performing of these have now yielded impressive cycle life performance over 1,000 cycles with 95% capacity retention as reported by Volkswagen's battery arm PowerCo based on testing in their own labs in Germany. In 2023, we set out to turn these A0 prototypes into a commercial product.

Speaker 2

And with advances in cathode loading, packaging efficiency and process quality, we now have our first commercial product QSE5 in our sites. When it comes to the combination of product development, customer engagement and financial strength, I believe our leadership in next generation batteries is stronger than it's ever been. When we begin shipping QSE5, it will mark a world first for automotive solid state lithium metal battery technology representing the culmination of years of development on the part of the QuantumScape team and further solidifying our leadership next generation battery technology. But starting low volume production of our first product is not the end of the journey. It's just the beginning.

Speaker 2

To truly fulfill the promise of our breakthrough technology, we will need to increase production by orders of magnitude from where we are today. For that reason, Early last year, I set out to recruit a leader with extensive experience in high volume manufacturing of sophisticated technology products. Such a candidate would need to have extensive experience bringing complex emerging technology into high volume production, A proven track record of operational discipline and an appreciation for the significance of QuantumScapes mission and the scale of our ambition. I believe our company is closer than ever to having a profound impact on the automotive industry and the wider world, while delivering exceptional returns for shareholders. I was looking for a leader who both shared that vision and had the tools to make it a reality.

Speaker 2

I'm pleased to say we found the ideal candidate in Doctor. Siva Sybaram. He has decades of experience taking groundbreaking technology products into high volume production, building factories, establishing partnerships and scaling production across the world. Since coming on as President, Simba has impressed the team with his operational skills, strategic vision and ability to drive results, as well as his connections within the broader high-tech manufacturing industry. Most importantly, he fits in perfectly with the culture we've worked hard to build and the values we all hold, respect, curiosity, integrity and passion to solve the problem of building a better battery.

Speaker 2

That's why as Chairman, I'm thrilled to announce that with my recommendation, the Board has agreed to appoint Doctor. Siva Sivaram as Chief Executive Officer. I have total confidence that he is the right person to take on the challenge of bringing our transformational solid state battery technology to market, driving this next phase of growth, fulfilling our mission of revolutionizing energy storage and delivering exceptional returns for shareholders. There's no doubt in our minds Siva is the right person at the right time to lead us on to the next phase of our journey. With that, let me turn it over to you, Siva.

Speaker 2

Congratulations.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Jagdeep. I'm proud and excited for this opportunity and very grateful to you for interesting me with this mission. I'll begin with a look back at our achievements in 2023, give some insight into our manufacturing process roadmap and close with a look at our key goals for the next year. 2023 marked the beginning of a transformational period for QuantumScape, starting with the shipment of our first A0 prototype cells In late 2022 and continuing in 2023 with the development and demonstration of key component level improvements needed to go from prototype to product, higher cathode loading, an efficient commercial packaging design, and an improved and far more scalable separator process. The A0 prototypes were intended to demonstrate the core capability of the technology ahead of achieving the reliability and other characteristics expected of a commercial product.

Speaker 3

1 of the customers that received the A0 prototype sales was our long standing partner, the Volkswagen Group, whose battery manufacturing arm Powercomb confirmed the results we reported in our Q3 23 shareholder letter, our best performing cell achieved over 1,000 cycles with over 95% capacity retention. With respect to cathode loading, we reported performance results from higher loading sales in our Q1 2023 shareholder letter. This increase in cathode loading means our new cathodes offer 60% more capacity per unit area. This improvement has been integrated into our baseline cell bills, representing a key step forward towards achieving our target energy density for QSE5. Improved packaging efficiency is another enabler for high dense spot high energy density and the flex frame packaging of QSC5 is more efficient compared to our a0 prototype cell.

Speaker 3

In Q4, we completed the integration of several packaging improvements, including tighter internal margins, thinner current collectors and a slimmer frame design. Another focus in 2023 was to improve production quality and consistency. With respect to reliability, We have improved the interface between the cathode and the separator, which we have determined is one of the major drivers of reliability. We have reduced ambient and process related particle contamination, improved the components and processes that go into cell assembly and made advances across our entire production flow. These improvements have allowed us to integrate the higher loading cathodes and more efficient packaging into the Alpha-two prototype cells we plan to ship this year.

Speaker 3

Our final goal was to introduce our new fast separator heat treatment process. This goal is important because Heat treatment is one of the most cost intensive parts of ceramic processing and is often the main bottleneck in terms of throughput. This faster process also results in an improved separator and we are rolling it out in 2 stages. Raptor, which we successfully deployed in Q4 and its successor, Cobra. On that front, I'd like to take a moment to offer some more detail on Raptor and Cobra and our process roadmap.

Speaker 3

When it comes to Raptor, the heat processing step is approximately 8 times faster than our current generation process, cutting the amount of energy needed per separator and increasing throughput. Raptor also removes several other process steps entirely, Allowing us to eliminate material inputs that would otherwise introduce particle contamination. When it reaches its full planned run rate, Raptor will be capable of more separated starts per week than the combined capacity of every previous generation of heat treatment equipment put together. Thanks to this step change increase in productivity, Raptor is capable of providing enough separator films to enable low volume QSC5 production this year. Cobra takes the innovations of the Raptor process and adds 3 more improvements.

Speaker 3

1st and foremost, the COBRA heat treatment step is designed to be faster than Raptor by more than an order of magnitude, which dramatically improves throughput and energy efficiency. 2nd, The COBRA heat treatment equipment has a footprint, an order of magnitude smaller than Raptor, while also increasing production capacity, which saves space on the production floor and further improves the process economics. 3rd, the COBRA process consolidates eliminates additional individual process steps compared to Raptor, reducing potential sources of variability from the process as well as easing production bottlenecks and lowering cost. We believe these advantages make COBRA process The most attractive pathway to gigawatt hour scale production. Those such volumes will require larger configurations of COBRA equipment, Bringing online a disruptive improvement like cobra presents a technical challenge and significant work remains to develop a Fully mature cobra production process.

Speaker 3

We have prioritized bringing cobra into production as soon as possible. Finally, I'd like to lay out our 4 key goals for the coming year. In 2024, Our focus is to take the improvements we have demonstrated at the component level in 2023 and integrate them into one design, QSE5, The approximately 5 amp hour cell that we are targeting as our first commercial product. Our first major goal for the year is to ship a round of samples designated as Alpha-two, which integrates the improved cathode and packaging that we have developed in 2023 into a multilayer cell design. Alpha-two is an

Speaker 4

important milestone in de risking many of the

Speaker 3

key elements of integration, in derisking many of the key elements of integration and when combined with Raptor films and other refinements represents the core of QSE5. Our second goal for this year is to transition to Raptor production, going from initial deployment at the end of last year to its full planned run rate. To enable this transition, we must install and qualify upstream and downstream automation for Raptor. We expect it to provide up to 3 times the separator production capacity compared to our current generation process, enabling low volume QSE5 prototype production this year. Our 3rd goal for this year is to begin low volume B0 prototype production for our first commercial cell, QSC5.

Speaker 3

We define B0 prototypes as a near final QSC5 product design, a 24 layer cell integrating improving package efficiency and higher loading cathode using films produced by our Raptor process. It is important to note that the final designation of a B sample by an automotive OEM occurs only after extensive testing of these candidates. We believe QSE 5 builds a unique high value segment of the EV battery market by combining high energy density with high power. The final goal for the year is to prepare for COBRA production in 2025. We are already operating prototype versions of COBRA heat treating equipment.

Speaker 3

And in light of the promising data from our prototype equipment And the significant advantages of COBRA as a pathway to gigawatt hour scale production, we have prioritized bringing COBRA into production as soon as possible to support higher volumes of QSC5 in 2025. Our goal for 2024 is to set the stage for COBRA by taking delivery of key pieces of cobra equipment and preparing to bring them into production. These goals are challenging and ambitious And you will require the focused effort on behalf of the entire team. We believe that achieving them will represent major progress along our industrialization roadmap. With that, I will hand over to Kevin for a word on our financial outlook.

Speaker 5

Thank you, Siva. Capital expenditures for the Q4 and full year 2023 were $13,800,000 and $84,500,000 respectively. Notable items of Q4 CapEx included QS0 facilities investments as well as prototype equipment for our COBRA process. GAAP operating expenses were $124,600,000 in the 4th quarter and $479,000,000 for the full year 2023. Cash operating expenses were $73,900,000 in the 4th quarter and $264,100,000 for the full year 2023, consistent with our previously communicated guidance.

Speaker 5

In lieu of a cash operating expense metric, moving forward, we will provide guidance on adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a similar measure we believe offers improved comparability with other companies. Included in our shareholder letter is a reconciliation of to GAAP net loss. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $60,700,000 in the 4th quarter $249,200,000 for the full year 2023. For the full year 2024, we expect capital expenditures to be between $70,000,000 $120,000,000 Priorities for CapEx in 2024 include investments in certain process areas, notably cell assembly, to better match the throughput of the Raptor tool, as well as CapEx for COBRA, metrology to support improvements in film quality and reliability and for facilities to support further scale up of QS0.

Speaker 6

For the

Speaker 5

full year 2024, we forecast adjusted EBITDA loss to be between $250,000,000 $300,000,000 Our 2024 guidance reflects efforts to maintain our commercialization timeline while conserving cash and extending our runway, primarily by focusing on process improvements. Raptor is a notable step change process improvement. Also important are steady continuous improvement efforts targeted throughout the process flow. The net result is an operating plan that increases QS0 output while holding CapEx to a similar range as 2023. We ended the year with $1,070,000,000 in liquidity, strongly positioning the company as we transition from prototype to product and prepare for subsequent industrialization.

Speaker 5

We continue to be prudent with our balance sheet and optimize spending. As a result of cost saving initiatives and judicious planning, We now forecast our cash runway will extend into the second half of twenty twenty six, two quarters beyond our prior estimates. Any additional funds raised from capital markets activity, including under our ATM prospectus supplement, would further extend this cash runway. Longer term, our capital requirements will be a function of our industrialization business model, which we believe could reflect a mix of wholly owned production, joint venture and licensing relationships.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Kevin. We'll begin today's Q and A portion with a few questions we've received from investors or that I believe investors would Jagdeep, I'll start with you. You've overseen QuantumScape's development since its founding. What makes you feel it was the right move to appoint CIVA as CEO? And also what drove the timing?

Speaker 2

So John, the first point is that I believe in the strongest position that we've ever been in relative to the combination of technical progress, cash balance and customer engagement. We've shipped our A0 samples to customers, seeing the best performing of these that have a category leading performance in the customer lab Over 1,000 cycles with 95% capacity retention, we have $1,000,000,000 in the balance sheet and our customer engagement is stronger than ever. Secondly, We're now in a period of transformation going from prototype to product, which we plan to achieve by combining the component level results we announced last year, higher cathode loading, improved packaging and more scalable film process with Raptor into an integrated cell, the QSC5. But the other critical part of this transformation is to put in place the leader that brings the high volume manufacturing experience will need to drive the next stage of our growth. On that note, we were very fortunate to attract someone of CIVA's caliber, Someone who checks all the boxes in terms of having brought emerging technologies into high volume production multiple times in his career, as well as having the cultural fit that's so necessary for a successful transition.

Speaker 2

We think his taking the helm of CEO will be a huge value creation move for investors over the coming decade. And finally, I continue to serve as Chairman to provide continuity and to provide any help Siva needs for me.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Chekke. Siva, turning to you now. You've had a remarkable career to date. What attracted you to QuantumScape at this stage of our development?

Speaker 3

Well, John, my career over the last 4 decades in the semiconductor and data storage industries has been one of taking revolutionary new technologies into high volume production. Whether it is advanced microprocessors at Intel, Our 3 d flash at SanDisk, our high volume data storage at Western Digital, I've been fortunate to be closely involved in solving complex technology while simultaneously bringing up manufacturing capabilities. I have been part of building fabs and factories around the world. And in every case, it's the process of developing a stable baseline, delivering a product to the customer, get feedback, scale the production and systematically improve productivity and reliability. Now I wanted to do something more impactful and leave a mark.

Speaker 3

Whether it is team, technology, market or impact, QuantumScape fits the profile perfectly for me. The impact touches every person on the planet, the technology is world changing, the team is world class And the market spans the globe. My connection with QuantumScape is now almost a decade old. I was talking with Jagdeep and Tim about adhesion layer deposition in 2013. I was talking with them both again around 2017.

Speaker 3

When Jagdeep and I started talking about this current opportunity almost a year ago, last February, I was immediately intrigued by the possibilities of leading the company through this next phase. Since I joined the company last year, I've been very impressed with the purposefulness of the team and the depth of the knowledge in all aspects of battery technology and production. The focus on solving materials and chemistry problems At the fundamental level, before attempting to ramp volume, aligns with my experiences and successful manufacturing transitions.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Siva. A question for Siva that we received from an investor in our IR inbox. How can investors best track QuantumScapes progress

Speaker 3

John, this is a transformational moment for us. We have shipped out A0, defined the commercial packaging design and we are targeting Alpha2 shipments. This has all been necessary to get a well defined product, the QSE5. The next step is getting the QSC-five B0 samples in customers' hands as soon as possible, so we can get the feedback from them and iterate. The goals that we have set up for ourselves this year directly track the industrialization of the technology, delivering the Alpha-two samples to the customers, Getting Raptor ramp to high volumes and starting the low volume production of QSC5B0 samples, which are 24 layers with Raptor Humes are critical to our success.

Speaker 3

The 4th goal of preparing for COBRA production is essential for ramping the cell volume next year. Tracking our progress to these goals is the best way for investors to follow along on our industrialization roadmap.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thanks so much. Now ready to begin the live portion of today's call. Operator, please open up the line for questions.

Operator

Absolutely. Our first question today comes from Jordan Levy with Truist. Please proceed.

Speaker 7

Congratulations, Siv, on the role here and Jagdeep, thanks for everything and looking forward to continuing to have you on the Board here as the Chair. Sylvain, maybe given you're taking over as CEO here, I just wanted to step back and get your thoughts. You have a lot of Obviously, experience on scaling up new technologies and just wanted to get your thoughts on the go forward path and what the biggest challenges to getting to that Gigawatt hour scale are in your opinion and your confidence around the ability to get there over the coming years?

Speaker 3

Thank you. Thanks for the question. The way we have always done volume manufacturing ramp is to be systematic. So the goals that we have set up for ourselves neatly align into that way of thinking in terms of making sure we do the near term things correctly, build it up, deliver samples to customers, learn back from them, iterate and improve. So this year is all about marching towards low volume B0 production, making sure all the infrastructure goes in place to make that happen.

Speaker 3

And once we have that, then take the steps towards high volume B sample production next year. So I think these are very well set up with our goals of Making sure that the Alpha 2 goes out this year followed by the B0 initial volume production, making sure Raptor is well integrated and then getting ready for COBRA. So as long as we march through this systematically, we'll be reaching there the fastest.

Speaker 7

Thank you so much for that.

Speaker 3

Maybe just

Speaker 4

a quick follow-up. Go ahead, sorry. Yes.

Speaker 7

I was just going to say reading through the shareholder letter and the commentary On COBRA, it seems like you all said that the priority now is to get that online as soon as possible. And I'm just curious, is there Something that's come to light either with the prototype of COBRA heat treatment that you've been looking at or something that's Got you more excited about getting to COBRA or has anything changed kind of how you're thinking about that?

Speaker 3

Clearly, we deployed Raptor end of last year and we have now integrated into cells and are ramping it. And we need to make sure we get our learnings from Raptor. COBRA, the potential when you see The heat treatment time being reduced by an order of magnitude and the equipment footprint dropping by an order of magnitude, It is a very big deal for us to get into volume production next year. So this idea of learning from Raptor and getting ready for cobra. That's the system we are following and I think that's the right way to ramp production.

Speaker 7

Thanks so much.

Operator

Our next question today comes from Gabe Daoud with TD Cowen. Please proceed.

Speaker 8

Hey, thank you. And Jagdeep, we'll miss you on these calls and a similar congrats on the new role. I was just hoping we could start with Alpha-two being as that's the next iteration of your cell design, could you just maybe talk a little bit about well, first, I guess, have you paired the higher loading cathode With anything other than just the 2 layer cell, I would be interested in an update on that. And then also if you could just talk about Those efforts to incorporate the higher cathode loading with a greater level of layers and maybe what Some of the challenges are there. Is it the interface between cathode and separator issues as you noted?

Speaker 8

And Is it issues with lack of uniformity with lithium plating and stripping? Just any kind of update on that undertaking would be helpful.

Speaker 2

Hey, Gabe. It's Jagdeep. Let me go ahead and start and then I'll turn it over to Siva to provide more color. So yes, you're correct that we did develop the higher loading cathodes last year. We reported on that, I think, on the Q1 call last year, and we did ship that higher loading capital to customers.

Speaker 2

And then what Alpha 2 represents is exactly what you're saying. It's a multilayer version of that higher loading cathode integrated with The advances in packaging that we refer to. So remember, going from the A0 prototype to The QIC product involves sort of 4 major components, if you will. The first is a 24 layer design that we already showed in the A0 prototypes that we shipped back in 2022. The second is a higher loading cathode that we developed and shared results On the Q1 call a year ago, the third is the better packaging, which includes A number of different improvements from tighter margins, less overall volume in terms of the package is more efficient and other things like that, better current collectors.

Speaker 2

And the final thing is The Raptor films, which are obviously the building block for our long term, more scalable film production process. So those four things all have to come together to make a QSE5 prototype. And what we are doing with the Alpha2 is integrating The higher loading cathodes and the better packaging along with the multi layer design, which gives us confidence that we're tracking towards the QSE5 low volume B0 prototypes that Sivra referred to earlier. Sivra, you want to add to that all?

Speaker 3

Thanks, Yapik. So you see this systematic approach over and over again. We had shipped the 24 layer A0 samples very end of 2022 and we're going to be shipping this year low volume, B0 samples. We needed to have multiple steps in between as we integrate this important sub components, whether it is high loading, cathode, or packaging, efficient packaging or the Raptor. As we come along, we want to make sure we do deliver these samples to customers, make sure they get to test, They give us feedback.

Speaker 3

You'll see this very, very often from us as we go going forward. So Alpha 2 represents one of those big steps to make sure that we have the high loading cathode and the packaging put together. And then when we add the Raptor and then we get more towards the low volume V0 production that happens later in the year.

Speaker 8

Thanks guys. That's helpful. So the low volume B0 prototype, would that sell then more or less be pretty close to the Targeted commercial energy density of about 800 watt hours per liter?

Speaker 2

Yes. So that we're defining the B0 as essentially a cell that integrates the 4 component level improvements I just mentioned, right? A 24 layer design, a higher loading cathode, more efficient packaging and the new improved Raptor films. And if we do that, then you're absolutely right, we start to get into the zip code of the commercial target edgy density for QSE5. There might be small variations obviously because it will still be a prototype of B sample, B0 sample, not the commercial product.

Speaker 2

But the most important point there Gabe is that we will have those 4 building blocks integrated and with that we'll be essentially in the right zip code of energy density.

Speaker 8

Awesome. That's great to hear. Just one last quick one for me. Just On the separator manufacturing COBRA, sorry, Raptor target getting to 15,000 starts a week, COBRA Just under $100,000 Any thoughts on, I guess, yields and what do yields look like off those starts? I know initially would probably be pretty low, but just curious if you could help us think about that a bit more.

Speaker 8

Thanks guys.

Speaker 3

Just to be clear, we have said Raptor produces 3x our current existing process starts And COBRA can be an order of magnitude higher. We are not exclusively giving starts and yield numbers specifically in this. But you can see when you increase productivity in like orders of magnitude, that's a very, very important step for us. So we will be receiving COBRA equipment towards the end of the year. We want to make sure all the upstream, downstream steps are integrated.

Speaker 3

So we are so that we can be ready for production with it next year.

Speaker 2

Yes. And Gabe, if I can just add, if you look at the chart in our shareholder letter that talks about the key indicators of process scalability. You see, as Sylvain mentioned, that the processing time For COBRA compared to what we do today is an order of magnitude lower, which means order of magnitude better. And independently of that, the equipment footprint is also an order of magnitude better, right? So when you look at the total capability of the process in a given amount of space, it really is compellingly better process that we're super excited about relative to getting to gigawatt hour scale.

Speaker 3

Thanks guys.

Operator

Our next question today comes from Ben Kallo with Baird. Please proceed.

Speaker 9

Hey. Good evening. Thank you, Jagdeep, for everything. Doctor. Siva, welcome.

Speaker 9

I wanted to ask just about the backdrop. We read all these things about You know, going white EVs and you know demand being down, but I know a lot of it is just headline, but how that impacts Your discussions and business development.

Speaker 3

Yes. Obviously, we've been talking very closely with our customers. And indeed, it's true that there is Short term turbulence in the marketplace, but the secular long term trend in EVs continues to be very robust And our customers and their confidence reflects that. As we work with them for the long term, they are as pumped up about what we are able to deliver as they have always been. So we continue to work with them closely.

Speaker 3

We do watch the markets in the short term, but I think Our focus is on this secular long term trend of increasing EV adoption across all markets.

Speaker 9

And just on that front, you said all markets. Do you focus On one market in particular, I know China is probably stronger in Europe or is that up to your customers?

Speaker 3

Yes. I should not be talking for our customers. You should ask the question of our customers. But Our main customers are global players who have businesses across all marketplaces and their demand to us aggregates all these as they talk to us.

Speaker 9

And you guys have a very good cash balance, But how do we think about it being deployed over 24 CapEx and any capital needs going forward? Thank you.

Speaker 5

Ben, thank you for the question. We ended the year with Approximately $1,070,000,000 which we think is a strong cash balance for this transition phase going from prototype to product. We provided guidance for the year for CapEx of between $70,000,000 $120,000,000 and adjusted EBITDA guidance of between $250,000,000 $300,000,000 loss. That combines together to a cash runway into the second half of twenty twenty six. And we did note in the letter that that is an extension of a further 2 quarters relative to the prior guidance.

Speaker 5

So while we haven't given Interim detail in the periods outside of 2024, we have updated the aggregate cash runway guidance.

Operator

Our next question today comes from Jed Dorsheimer with William Blair. Please proceed.

Speaker 4

You have Mark Schutter on for Jed Dorsheimer here. I just want to reiterate what other analyst sentiments here, congratulating to you both, Jaydeep and CEVA. Thinking about the amp hour size of your cells, there's obviously some energy density efficiency that can be gained from Larger cell sizes. And my understanding is that the limiting factor here is the area of the separator. Not that you can't make larger, but there is an optimization function there.

Speaker 4

So can you walk us through some of the offsets between cost and yields versus the energy density benefits you may go or you may get from going to a larger cell size with a larger area separator?

Speaker 2

Yes, it's a great question. Thanks for asking. So, you're absolutely right that for any given Architecture, if you go into a larger package, the ratio of package inactive materials to Electrodes and active materials gets more favorable and so you will get an energy density advantage by going to a bigger cell just because there's less Spinach and unnecessary sort of componentry in the cell. Having said that, our mission was to get our first product to market as quickly as possible. And we wanted to minimize how many changes we made to the design and the form factor we were already working on.

Speaker 2

So the reason why the QSE5 is in the form factor that it's in, is largely because that was the form factor we had identified as our initial A sample early on and all of our manufacturing capability was designed around that particular form factor. So Rather than change the form factor and incur a number of unnecessary delays as we read it tooling and so on, We want to just focus on time to market and deliver a sell in that same form factor. The good news is even within that smaller form factor, We see very compelling numbers. In one of our previous in the Q2 2023, shorter letter, you'll see a chart on Page 3, I think, That shows you that we believe we can get to a pretty unique combination of energy and power in that form factors, even the 5 amp power form factor, which is about as much energy as you get in a 2,170 cell, the one that's used in the Model 3, for example, the Tesla Model 3. You basically can get on the order of 800 or more watt hours per liter, while still targeting 15 minute charge times.

Speaker 2

To our knowledge, that's a unique part of the curve. All of the other major EV cells that are out there can either get energy or power, but not both simultaneously. And then having said that, the road map absolutely allows for us to get to higher energy density simply by increasing the form factor. So Even with no fundamental changes to the chemistry, simply by going to larger separator films and larger cell packaging, You end up improving the ratio of active to inactive materials in the cell and thereby improving the overall energy density. So that's something that's very much on the road map and it's just a matter of sequencing what we do so we can focus on getting to market without unnecessary delays.

Speaker 4

That's great. Thanks for the color. As a follow-up here, talking about Raptor and Cobra, there's obviously a large development that's occurred in the sintering process with the heat treatment. Unfortunately, with all things batteries, there's often a performance negative side to every improvement you make in one area. Could you touch on any of the challenges you've had and what do you want to see from the material set in Raptor that gives you the green lights For COBRA, is it things does the void space change?

Speaker 4

Does the lithium conductivity change because of your the faster Gintering, anything any color on that would be great. Thanks guys.

Speaker 3

Yes. Even though the Heat treatment time has dramatically reduced. We have not changed the composition of the films, which continue to be refined As our needs evolve, both the Raptor films, which you've already integrated and for ourselves satisfied that it meets our needs, We continue to follow this very, very closely with COBRA. Like any step change, production change things, you know there are going to be difficulties as you ramp them up. And we as careful development engineers, we do go back and systematically analyze them to make sure That we are doing the right things to scale up.

Speaker 3

As of now, we don't see anything that is a blocker for that. We are doing very well in this. That's the reason we are putting a priority on getting COBRA into production as soon as possible. But it is A order of magnitude improvement in productivity, so it makes it very attractive for us to implement it into production as soon as possible.

Operator

Our next question today comes from Wesley Brooks with HSBC. Please proceed.

Speaker 6

Hi guys and thanks for the question and congrats on the new roles. So firstly from me, could you I mean, are there any key timelines that you can provide us for these goals through the year? I mean, particularly On shipping the A2 cells and kind of when we should expect feedback on that and then kind of When we should expect that low volume production to get off or we just kind of yes, kind of we just kind of wait to see as you go through it?

Speaker 3

Yes. As we have said in our shareholder letter, We expect low volume B0 production for this calendar year and that's the guidance we have given. And all in between steps such as the shipping of Alpha-two and ramping Raptor into production and getting COBRA into on-site. We'll keep you updated as we achieve each of these milestones through the year. But for now, our guidance is to say that we will be in low volume production in calendar 2024.

Speaker 6

Okay, understood. And then kind of a follow-up, just you talked about the 4 key building blocks, obviously, the packaging, the high load sales, the Raptor. Are there any other key technological challenges that still need to be resolved? Or is it really just kind of Putting these all together and figuring out how to do that kind of efficiently

Speaker 1

and well.

Speaker 3

So we are making that big transition from having developed individual components into making a product, the QSC5. I do not want to minimize, for instance, The reliability improvements that we need to make. As we increase the volumes, we will make sure we continue to monitor Productivity increases, particle reduction, variability reduction, process control, these things do take time. So I don't want to minimize the amount of work that goes into making that happen. The individual components, as we said, The higher loading cathode, the better packaging efficiency, the Raptor films, we have the 24 layer and We have shown all of these independently.

Speaker 3

The QSC 5 puts these together. The devil is going to be in the details of getting all of this together and ramped in volume. And so I don't want to come back and say that to minimize the amount of challenges ahead of us.

Speaker 6

Great. That's understood. Thank you. Very clear.

Operator

Our next question today is a follow-up from Gabe Daoud with TD Cowen. Please proceed.

Speaker 8

Thanks, guys. Just wanted to hop back on and ask a quick one. Could you maybe confirm or Corb, any kind of confusion around the prospective automotive launch customer for QSE5. Is that still the same and is that prospective launch customer VW or PowerCo? Thanks.

Speaker 3

We have not explicitly called out who our launch partners. All I can say is in the last 4 months that I have been here, working with Jagdeep, I have spent a lot of time with the customer. Customer continues to be as excited as always to get this launched. As we get close to it, we will disclose with their permission on who the launch partner will be.

Speaker 8

Got it. Got it. Thanks

Speaker 4

for the

Speaker 3

Thank you. With that, I'd like to thank all of you for joining us. I'd also like to thank our team for their excellent work this quarter And we thank our shareholders for their continuing support of our mission. We look forward to sharing more as we continue ahead. Thank you all.

Operator

That will conclude today's conference call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect your line.

Powered by Quartr
Earnings Conference Call
QuantumScape Q4 2023
00:00 / 00:00