QuantumScape announced a merger with Kensington Capital in early September in order to raise capital to produce lithium batteries for the electric vehicles (EV) market.
The combined value of the merged entities is estimated at around $3.3bn with the merger itself raising around $1bn—enough capital to help QuantumScape begin the production of batteries for Volkswagen’s EVs under a joint venture that was recently created between the two companies for this purpose.
The California-based lithium batteries maker said in a media statement that the company had first collaborated with the European carmaker in 2012 on battery cell development and thereafter announced the manufacturing joint venture to mass-produce solid-state lithium batteries for Volkswagen.
QuantumScape’s merger with Kensington will be completed by the last quarter of this year. Under the agreement, Kensington’s chairman and chief executive officer, Justin Mirro, will join the merged entity’s Board of Directors. The merged entity will be named QuantumScape with the ticker symbol QS on the New York Stock Exchange.