- QuantumScape’s Osprey cells ran 1,000 full charge cycles to about 80% capacity retention at just one atmosphere of pressure, the first public data for a sulfide-based cathode doing so, the company announced on 11 November 2026.
- The platform pairs the company’s ceramic separator and anode-free lithium-metal design with a solid sulfide cathode, replacing the liquid catholyte in its shipping QSE cells.
- The headline numbers carry conditions: the five-minute charge ran at 80°C, and the projected 1,100 Wh/L energy density has not yet been measured in a cell, against 844 Wh/L measured for the QSE-5 sample.
Sulfide solid-state batteries have stalled on a mechanical problem: the solid layers need constant pressure to stay in contact, and a car pack built around that requirement gets heavy and expensive. QuantumScape’s answer, announced on 11 November 2026, keeps the sulfide in the cathode and lets its ceramic separator handle the lithium metal, then offers that combination to other developers as an open platform.
Osprey is QuantumScape’s next-generation open platform for all-solid-state batteries, announced on 11 November 2026 in San Jose, California. It keeps the company’s proprietary ceramic separator and anode-free lithium-metal design from its QSE platform and swaps the liquid catholyte in the cathode for a solid sulfide electrolyte. The company is pitching Osprey as an open platform for licensing and co-development, so other sulfide-battery developers can build on the separator and anode-free architecture rather than starting from scratch.
What Osprey demonstrated in the lab
QuantumScape published the Osprey test data in a white paper alongside the announcement. The headline cycle-life result came from a two-layer unit cell with a 50 by 65 mm cathode, the same electrode area as the company’s QSE-5 cell, running 1C charge and 1C discharge at 100% depth of discharge, 30°C and one atmosphere of pressure. It reached 1,000 cycles with about 80% capacity retention. Cathode loading was 5.5 mAh per square centimetre, in line with commercial EV cells.
The other published results were a 10% to 80% charge in five minutes, operation down to minus 20°C, and projected energy density up to about 1,100 Wh/L. “Osprey is the result of years of frontier R&D efforts, and we’re excited to share it publicly for the first time,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, president and CEO of QuantumScape. “The industry has invested heavily in sulfide-based batteries but keeps hitting the same fundamental limits. As the data shows, Osprey can address these limitations.”
Reading the 1,100 Wh/L projection
The 1,100 Wh/L number is a projection, not a measured Osprey cell. QuantumScape says high-loading cathodes of 10 mAh per square centimetre, about double today’s EV cells, are possible with sulfide catholytes, and that large-format Osprey cells could reach that density. The test behind the projection used an 11 mm coin-size cell at 3 atmospheres of pressure and ran for 100 cycles, according to Electrek’s technical review of the white paper.
| Metric | QuantumScape Osprey (announced 11 Nov 2026) | QuantumScape QSE-5 B-sample (measured) |
|---|---|---|
| Volumetric energy density | About 1,100 Wh/L (projected) | 844 Wh/L |
| Projected gain over QSE-5 | About 30.3% (Joule Post arithmetic) | Baseline |
| Cycle life | 1,000 cycles to about 80% retention | Not stated in this announcement |
| Operating pressure | 1 atmosphere | Not stated in this announcement |
| Fast charge, 10% to 80% | 5 minutes (at 80°C in the white paper test) | Not stated in this announcement |
| Cell format tested | 2-layer unit cell, 50 x 65 mm cathode | B-sample cell |
The comparison that can be made honestly is the projected one: 1,100 Wh/L against the QSE-5 sample’s measured 844 Wh/L is about 30.3% higher (Joule Post arithmetic). The gain is real on paper, but it depends on doubling cathode loading to 10 mAh per square centimetre in a large-format cell, which QuantumScape has not yet demonstrated. The five-minute charge carries a similar condition: the white paper test ran at 80°C, far hotter than a car battery normally operates, in a two-layer cell. A typical DC fast charge takes about 30 minutes for the same 10% to 80% window, so the five-minute figure would be roughly six times faster if it held at normal temperatures, which the published data does not yet show.
Why one atmosphere matters for sulfide cells
Sulfide electrolytes react with lithium metal, which shortens battery life, and they typically need to be held under high pressure to maintain contact between the solid layers. Many sulfide cells in labs run at 30 to 100 or more atmospheres, and QuantumScape’s own illustration puts 20 atmospheres on a single cell at roughly 5,000 kg of force. That pressure requirement has been the practical blocker for sulfide solid-state batteries in vehicles: a pack that needs constant mechanical compression is heavy, complex and expensive to build. Osprey’s 1,000 cycles at one atmosphere removes that blocker in the lab, which is why the company calls it an unmatched capability for automotive use.
The cold-weather result carries a similar caveat. “Operational down to minus 20°C” came from a single-layer cell with a 21 by 21 mm cathode, discharged slowly, which kept 68% of its room-temperature capacity at minus 20°C and 85% at 0°C. It is a real result for a sulfide system, which has historically needed heat, but it comes from a cell the size of a postage stamp.
Scale is the open question. The cycle-life result came from a two-layer cell. A multi-layer automotive pack is a different scale of engineering, and the white paper says the manufacturing process has been demonstrated at laboratory scale, with higher-throughput processes still in development and significant work remaining in process engineering. Cells based on the QSE platform are shipping to customers today, and QuantumScape reported US$9.8 million in customer billings in the third quarter, with a 100 MWh production line targeting start of production in 2028 for QSE-5. Osprey is the longer-term technology. The product shipping now is built on the QSE platform.
What 1,000 cycles at 80% retention means for an EV
Put the cycle number into driving terms and the scale becomes clear. At a stated assumption of 300 miles of range per full cycle, 1,000 cycles is 300,000 miles of cycling before capacity falls to 80% (Joule Post arithmetic, assumption labelled). That is far beyond a typical ownership period, and it is the reason cycle life, rather than peak energy density, is the number that decides whether a battery chemistry survives in a car. Retention matters as much as the count: 80% after 1,000 cycles is a 20-point capacity loss, and Electrek notes that PowerCo has confirmed 95% retention after 1,000 cycles for its own solid-state work, a 15-point better result on that measure.
The honest read is that Osprey solves one hard problem, pressure, in a small lab cell, while the two numbers buyers care about most, energy density and charge time, are still projections or hot-room results. That is normal for battery research, and it is also why the company’s framing matters: Osprey is an open platform, so its value depends on whether other developers license it and reproduce the results in larger cells. For drivers deciding whether to buy an EV now or wait for solid-state batteries, the answer is unchanged by this announcement. The solid-state timeline is still measured in years, and the cars on sale today are the ones with warranties and replacement costs that can already be counted. QuantumScape’s earlier data-centre work with the same cell family shows the technology is finding its first uses where pressure and packaging matter less than in a car.
Sources
- QuantumScape Corporation, “QuantumScape Expands Commercial Roadmap with Osprey”, GlobeNewswire, 11 November 2026
- QuantumScape, “Osprey: The Open Solid-State Platform” (white paper), 11 November 2026
- Electrek, “QuantumScape unveils Osprey all-solid-state cell: 1,000 cycles at 1 atm”, 11 November 2026
