What happened
Shares of electric vehicle (EV) battery company QuantumScape (QS -6.93%) jumped as much as 5% Tuesday morning. QuantumScape stock held onto a gain of 2.6% as of 11:39 a.m. ET as many EV stocks gained on a day when further progress was announced in expanding charging infrastructure throughout the United States.
So what
QuantumScape shares have been pummeled so far in 2022 as investors steered away from higher-risk stocks. The battery company is working to validate a solid-state battery that would potentially be used as a preferred battery technology to the current lithium-ion batteries. The company is counting on not just its technology proving out but also the widespread adoption of EVs in general. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced some important progress on that front.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The DOT said it has now officially approved EV infrastructure deployment plans for all 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The plans are part of the rollout of funds allocated in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed late last year. Approval was given two weeks ago to the first tranche of submissions, and now a total of $1.5 billion of funding has been approved to beef up EV charging infrastructure over 75,000 miles of highway across the country.
Graphite is currently the most commonly used anode material in conventional lithium-ion batteries, but QuantumScape wants to prove that lithium metal anodes can be successfully implemented. That requires a solid-state separator be included, but would provide higher energy density, faster charging, and less risk of fires.
QuantumScape has been successful in proving the technology can be used in vehicle batteries, but must have testing and validation completed by automotive manufacturers before it can move to commercial production. That likely won't occur until 2025, but investors are looking ahead and moving the stock higher after its earlier decline this year. Today's news that more charging infrastructure should be in place when QuantumScape is ready for commercialization brought more investors into the stock today.
