What happened
QuantumScape (QS 5.69%) shares jumped Thursday morning after its latest investor presentation yesterday. The stock moved up by almost 8% and remained higher by 4.9% at 12:05 p.m. ET. Today's move has brought the stock's gain to more than 20% over the last month.
So what
Today's gain was also likely helped by the move of shares in another early-stage EV battery maker. Freyr Battery shares surged higher this morning after that company announced progress on its technology and got a boost from a widely followed EV sector analyst. Freyr shares were higher by about 20% after that company's update followed by positive comments from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.
Now what
Both battery makers are making progress toward commercialization of their products. But each is working toward a somewhat different goal. QuantumScape is developing solid-state battery technology that it expects will be widely adopted once commercialized.
The company's solid-state design differs from traditional lithium-ion battery technology by allowing for anode-free manufacturing helping to lower costs, speed up charging, improve efficiency, and provide a safer product.
QuantumScape plans to have a product that will provide a range of more than 300 miles and that can be charged from 10% to 80% in less than 15 minutes. It currently has commercial agreements with six automotive manufacturers and has product in the qualification process.
Freyr is working on making the more traditional lithium-ion technology cleaner and more efficient. Its recent update led analyst Jonas to predict that the stock could rally more than 70% from its recent level.
That helped the stock jump and likely led to QuantumScape investors also buying today in sympathy. But QuantumScape also gave investors some positive news of its own yesterday as it continues to work toward commercialization.
