US solid-state battery developer QuantumScape announced a joint battery research deal with auto giant Honda’s R&D arm on June 18.

The next-gen solid-state Li-metal battery tech developer said the agreement aims to use the firms’ combined expertise to accelerate its ‘QS’ battery platform.

The agreement includes a multi-year plan focused on solid-state battery development and associated manufacturing processes.

Honda has already completed a technology evaluation agreement with QS, which included what the partners say was an in-depth, hands-on technical study of QS’s solid-state tech as well as competitive benchmarking across a range of standard technical tests.

“QS technology demonstrated compelling and unique advantages during our evaluation,” said Atsushi Ogawa, COO at Honda R&D’s Research Center of Excellence.

“We see potential for QS technology to add value across a range of applications, including automotive, and we are excited to move forward into the next phase of our partnership.”

The agreement comes two years after QuantumScape and PowerCo, the battery subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, announced a deal to industrialise QuantumScape’s battery tech.

That was followed in February this year with the launch of pilot production at QuantumScape’s Eagle Line in Silicon Valley.

Eagle Line forms the blueprint for the ‘QS system’, QuantumScape said. The system incorporates the firm’s ‘Cobra’ process, described as a scalable method for producing the proprietary QS separator.