Volkswagen is boosting its stake in U.S. company QuantumScape by up to $200 million to increase the development of solid-state battery technology that aims to increase the range of electric cars and shorten charging times, the German automaker said on Tuesday.
The automaker added that plans for a pilot plant were expected to be firmed up in the course of this year.
In 2018, Volkswagen closed QuantumScape transaction and invested $100 million in the company for solid-state batteries.
Founded in 2010, QuantumScape is a privately-held start-up, based in San Jose, California, and is working on new, advanced energy storage.
The company says it aims to change the paradigm in energy storage by developing a completely new class of electrical energy storage devices.
