Honda has established a collaboration with QuantumScape, an American company specializing in battery development, based in San Jose, California. The objective of this partnership, announced in June 2026, is to research and create solid-state batteries, along with the relevant manufacturing methodologies.
This agreement came several months after Honda decided to cancel the launch in the North American market of three electric models: the Honda 0 SUV, the Honda 0 Saloon, and the Acura RSX. This cancellation coincided with the company's first annual financial loss in approximately 75 years.
In a statement issued by QuantumScape, Atsushi Ogawa, Director of Operations at the Honda R&D Research Excellence Center, stated that the company's solid-state technology platform demonstrated 'convincing and unique advantages' during a technical study, suggesting that the partnership could 'add value across a range of applications.' Previously, QuantumScape had closed a similar deal the previous year with PowerCo SE, a battery company belonging to the Volkswagen group.
Besides electric vehicles, QuantumScape is positioning its solid-state batteries as a solution for emerging sectors with a high energy demand, such as data centers, robotics, and drones. Honda itself has ambitious goals, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and expand its electric vehicle production to cover 100% of sales by 2040.
How solid-state technology works
In conventional electric vehicles that use lithium ions, the electrolytes—responsible for conducting positively charged electrons between the cathode (positive terminal) and the anode (negative terminal)—are composed of liquid solutions of lithium salts dissolved in organic solvents. Solid-state batteries replace these liquid components with solid electrolytes, which can be oxides, sulfides, polymeric salts, or gel polymers.
This technological transition also allows for the replacement of carbon or silicon anodes with materials having higher energy capacity, such as metallic lithium. According to QuantumScape, an electric car equipped with one of its cells could increase its range from 350 miles to somewhere between 400 and 500 miles. Honda projected that a solid-state battery would be capable of reaching between 80% and 90% charge in just a few minutes.
Honda executives also indicated that this technology has the potential to double the extended range of current electric models by the end of this decade. Solid electrolytes offer significant benefits because they eliminate the risk of leaks, are non-flammable, and show less vulnerability to degradation caused by additional chemical reactions. Additionally, these batteries perform well even in extreme temperatures and could eliminate the need for graphite anodes, reducing the electric vehicle market's dependence on Chinese suppliers of this material.
Despite these notable advantages, no manufacturer has yet launched a fully electric vehicle powered by solid-state batteries to the consumer public. The main obstacle lies in the difficulty of scalability given the high production costs.
Honda began its work on solid-state batteries in 2024, when it announced its intention to produce prototypes at its facility located in Sakura City, Japan. The partnership with QuantumScape involves using the Eagle Line facility, recently inaugurated by the American company, to manufacture the QSE-5 cells—which are anode-free and contain metallic lithium—which were presented in a prototype of the Ducati V21L motorcycle last autumn. The company expects to introduce a solid-state electric vehicle by the end of this decade.
