Quantumscape Corp (QS) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to QuantumScape's Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. John Saager, QuantumScape's Head of Investor Relations, you may begin your conference.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 QuantumScape 的 2022 年第三季度收益電話會議。 QuantumScape 投資者關係主管 John Saager，您可以開始您的會議了。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, and thank you to everyone for joining QuantumScape's Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. To supplement today's discussion, please go to our IR website at ir.quantumscape.com to view our shareholder letter. Before we begin, I want to call your attention to the safe harbor provision for forward-looking statements that is posted on our website as part of our quarterly update.

謝謝你，接線員。下午好，感謝大家參加 QuantumScape 的 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議。為了補充今天的討論，請訪問我們的 IR 網站 ir.quantumscape.com 查看我們的股東信函。在我們開始之前，我想提請您注意作為我們季度更新的一部分發佈在我們網站上的前瞻性陳述的安全港條款。

Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events, future technology progress or future financial or operating performance. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize. Actual results and financial periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. There are risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the content of our forward-looking statements for the reasons that we cite in our shareholder letter, Form 10-K and other SEC filings, including uncertainties posed by the difficulty in predicting future outcomes.

前瞻性陳述通常與未來事件、未來技術進步或未來財務或經營業績有關。我們對這些事項的期望和信念可能不會實現。實際結果和財務期間受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與預測結果大不相同。由於我們在股東信、10-K 表格和其他 SEC 文件中引用的原因，包括難以預測未來所帶來的不確定性，存在可能導致實際結果與我們的前瞻性陳述的內容存在重大差異的風險因素結果。

Joining us today will be QuantumScape's Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman, Jagdeep Singh; and our CFO, Kevin Hettrich. Jagdeep will provide a strategic update on the business, and then Kevin will cover the financial results and our outlook in more detail. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jagdeep.

今天加入我們的將是 QuantumScape 的聯合創始人、首席執行官兼董事長 Jagdeep Singh；和我們的首席財務官 Kevin Hettrich。 Jagdeep 將提供有關業務的戰略更新，然后凱文將更詳細地介紹財務業績和我們的前景。有了這個，我想把電話轉給 Jagdeep。

Thank you, John. We're pleased to share an update on our progress since our last call. I'd like to start with progress towards our 24-layer A sample. This sample is our next major milestone and is intended to demonstrate our commercially relevant battery cell format and a meaningful increase in layer count relative to previous generations of customer samples. As we discussed on our Q2 earnings call, earlier in the year, we encountered a contaminant in our material. Over the summer, our team focused on identifying the root cause. And as a result of these efforts, we're pleased to report we've dramatically reduced the level of this contaminant in our films. In addition, we've also rolled in a number of other process improvements that we believe will produce better performing films. This progress has allowed us to freeze the major design parameters of the film and cell and turn our full attention to building 24-layer test cells.

謝謝你，約翰。我們很高興分享自上次通話以來的最新進展。我想從我們的 24 層 A 樣本的進展開始。該樣品是我們的下一個重要里程碑，旨在展示我們的商業相關電池格式以及相對於前幾代客戶樣品的層數顯著增加。正如我們在第二季度財報電話會議上所討論的那樣，今年早些時候，我們在材料中遇到了污染物。整個夏天，我們的團隊專注於找出根本原因。由於這些努力，我們很高興地報告說，我們已經大大降低了我們電影中這種污染物的水平。此外，我們還推出了許多其他工藝改進，我們相信這些改進將生產出性能更好的薄膜。這一進展使我們能夠凍結薄膜和電池的主要設計參數，並將我們的全部注意力轉向構建 24 層測試電池。

Before we deliver a new generation of battery cells to customers, we run what we refer to as a sample campaign involving several successive phases designed to build the necessary confidence in quality to ship cells to customers. We've kicked off our 24-layer A sample campaign and frozen major design parameters and are now ramping [film] production to enable larger volumes of cells to test and collect data on performance and quality.

在我們向客戶交付新一代電池之前，我們會進行我們所說的樣本活動，包括幾個連續的階段，旨在建立必要的質量信心，以便將電池運送給客戶。我們已經開始了我們的 24 層 A 樣品活動並凍結了主要設計參數，現在正在加速 [電影] 生產，以使更大體積的細胞能夠測試和收集有關性能和質量的數據。

It's important to note that while we have frozen the major design parameters, other parameters may still change as we learn more from our testing process and address any knock-on effects resulting from these improvements. So much work remains to be done. We will not begin shipping cells for customer sampling until we've gathered data that establishes confidence in the performance of finished cells. We'll report progress on this front on our next quarterly earnings call. One key aspect of the A sample design is the cell architecture. All lithium-metal batteries experience uniaxial expansion and contraction during charge and discharge. And we believe existing cell formats are not well equipped to handle this expansion.

重要的是要注意，雖然我們已經凍結了主要設計參數，但隨著我們從測試過程中了解更多信息並解決這些改進帶來的任何連鎖效應，其他參數可能仍會發生變化。還有很多工作要做。在我們收集到對成品電池性能建立信心的數據之前，我們不會開始運送電池供客戶取樣。我們將在下一個季度財報電話會議上報告這方面的進展。 A 樣本設計的一個關鍵方面是單元架構。所有鋰金屬電池在充放電過程中都會經歷單軸膨脹和收縮。我們相信現有的單元格格式並不能很好地處理這種擴展。

To address the requirements for our A sample films, we've been developing a new hybrid cell architecture. In our shareholder letter, we've shared the first public (inaudible) of this architecture, which is in certain respects a cross between a prismatic cell and a pouch cell. We progressed through multiple [iterations] of the design with the goal of improving its manufacturability and long-term robustness and expect to continue [iterating] on this design.

為了滿足我們對 A 樣品薄膜的要求，我們一直在開發一種新的混合電池架構。在我們的股東信中，我們分享了這種架構的第一個公眾（聽不清），在某些方面它是棱柱形電池和軟包電池之間的交叉。我們通過設計的多次[迭代]取得進展，目標是提高其可製造性和長期穩健性，並期望繼續[迭代]這個設計。

Next, I'd like to provide an update on our customer engagement. We continue to see strong interest in the automotive sector. In addition, on previous earnings calls, we've described potential markets for our technology beyond the automotive sector, including consumer electronics. We believe a key selling point for consumer electronics is the ability of our battery cells to run with zero externally applied pressure since volume constraints within the consumer device make it difficult to apply significant pressure.

接下來，我想提供有關我們客戶參與度的最新信息。我們繼續看到對汽車行業的濃厚興趣。此外，在之前的財報電話會議上，我們描述了我們的技術在汽車領域以外的潛在市場，包括消費電子產品。我們認為消費電子產品的一個關鍵賣點是我們的電池能夠在零外部施加壓力的情況下運行，因為消費設備內的體積限制使得難以施加顯著壓力。

We're engaged with some of the leading global consumer electronics companies, and I'm pleased to report we've shipped dozens of zero externally applied pressure single-layer pouch cells for customer testing within this sector. Sister cells made with the same design and tested under the same test conditions in our own labs, show the leading cells have achieved over 500 cycles.

我們與一些領先的全球消費電子公司合作，我很高興地報告說，我們已經運送了數十個零外部施加壓力單層軟包電池，用於該行業的客戶測試。採用相同設計製造並在我們自己的實驗室中在相同測試條件下進行測試的姐妹電池表明，領先的電池已實現超過 500 次循環。

While we remain focused on the automotive sector to drive our long-term growth and demand from this sector remains robust, we believe the consumer electronics market represents an interesting opportunity that could potentially provide additional revenue and field validation of our technology. I'd like to end with a look at the big picture. While the world is currently facing macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical disruptions, we believe the fundamentals driving the demand for energy storage remain unchanged.

雖然我們仍然專注於汽車行業以推動我們的長期增長並且該行業的需求保持強勁，但我們認為消費電子市場代表了一個有趣的機會，可能會為我們的技術提供額外的收入和現場驗證。最後，我想看一下大局。儘管世界目前正面臨宏觀經濟逆風和地緣政治動盪，但我們認為推動儲能需求的基本面保持不變。

In fact, we believe the need for better batteries has never been more urgent. We've taken important steps forward over the past quarter, and our progress is thanks to the incredible work of our team to overcome challenges, solve new problems and deliver results as we build momentum towards commercialization. On that note, I'll hand things over to our CFO, Kevin Hettrich.

事實上，我們相信對更好電池的需求從未如此迫切。在過去的一個季度中，我們向前邁出了重要的一步，我們的進步要歸功於我們團隊為克服挑戰、解決新問題和取得成果而做出的令人難以置信的工作，因為我們建立了商業化的勢頭。關於這一點，我將把事情交給我們的首席財務官 Kevin Hettrich。

Thank you, Jagdeep. In the third quarter, our operating expenses were $121 million. Our GAAP net loss for the quarter was $118 million. This level of spend was in line with our expectations entering the quarter. Cash operating expenses, defined as operating expenses less stock-based compensation and depreciation, were $79 million for the quarter. For full year 2022, we reiterate our cash OpEx guidance of $225 million to $275 million.

謝謝你，賈格迪普。第三季度，我們的運營費用為 1.21 億美元。我們本季度的 GAAP 淨虧損為 1.18 億美元。這一支出水平符合我們進入本季度的預期。本季度現金運營費用（定義為運營費用減去基於股票的薪酬和折舊）為 7900 萬美元。對於 2022 年全年，我們重申了 2.25 億美元至 2.75 億美元的現金運營支出指導。

CapEx in the third quarter was approximately $54 million. The majority of Q3 CapEx was directed towards facility investments. Other large payments went towards our Phase 2 engineering line, medium-scale continuous kiln, cell assembly and testing equipment and QS-0 coating equipment.

第三季度的資本支出約為 5400 萬美元。第三季度資本支出的大部分用於設施投資。其他大筆款項用於我們的二期工程線、中型連續窯、電池組裝和測試設備以及 QS-0 塗層設備。

In terms of full year 2022 CapEx, we expect to be on the lower end of our guidance of $175 million to $225 million. We continue to try to maximize capital efficiency and our ongoing build-out of the QS-0 pre-pilot line. For example, a significant number of tools that we will use as part of our Phase 2 engineering line can also be used to for initial low-volume production as part of our QS-0 line.

就 2022 年全年資本支出而言，我們預計將處於 1.75 億美元至 2.25 億美元指導值的下限。我們繼續努力最大限度地提高資本效率和我們正在進行的 QS-0 預試生產線的擴建。例如，我們將在第二階段工程生產線中使用的大量工具也可用於作為 QS-0 生產線的一部分進行初始小批量生產。

Including these tools, we continue to target year-end delivery of the majority of equipment needed for this early production on our QS-0 line.

包括這些工具，我們將繼續以年底交付我們的 QS-0 生產線早期生產所需的大部分設備為目標。

With respect to cash, we spent $110 million on operations and CapEx in the third quarter. And we now expect to enter 2023 with over $1 billion in liquidity, above previous guidance of over $950 million. With that, I'll pass it over to you, John.

在現金方面，我們在第三季度的運營和資本支出上花費了 1.1 億美元。我們現在預計到 2023 年的流動性將超過 10 億美元，高於之前超過 9.5 億美元的指導。有了這個，我會把它交給你，約翰。

Thanks, Kevin. We'll begin today's Q&A portion with a few questions we've received from investors. Jagdeep, we'll start with you.

謝謝，凱文。我們將從投資者那裡收到的幾個問題開始今天的問答部分。 Jagdeep，我們從你開始。

What was the impact of the contaminant discovery to your time line this year?

污染物的發現對您今年的時間線有何影響？

So the impact was required a cross-functional team to identify a root cause and fix the issue, all in a highly compressed schedule. Now the team was able to do all this while not giving up on the goal of delivering a 24-layer cell by year-end is, we think, a testament to the quality and commitment of the team.

因此，影響需要一個跨職能團隊來確定根本原因並解決問題，所有這些都在一個高度壓縮的時間表中。現在，團隊能夠做到這一切，同時又沒有放棄在年底前交付 24 層細胞的目標，我們認為，這證明了團隊的質量和承諾。

Resulting [this issue] did, however, require additional work that took time away from our sampling campaign, so it does increase the degree of difficulty of achieving our A sample go on schedule. It also puts more work ahead of us, even though we believe we've resolved the contaminant [in cells] because any time you make a change like this, you have to validate the fix as you implement, that can take time. I'd like to add that this is the kind of challenge the team has overcome repeatedly over the years.

然而，由此產生的 [這個問題] 確實需要額外的工作，這會佔用我們抽樣活動的時間，因此它確實增加了按時完成 A 抽樣的難度。儘管我們相信我們已經解決了 [in cell] 中的污染物，但它也給我們帶來了更多的工作，因為任何時候您進行這樣的更改，您都必須在實施時驗證修復，這可能需要時間。我想補充一點，這是團隊多年來反复克服的挑戰。

Making a lithium-metal anode cell is not easy (inaudible) would already be in the market. So this is not the first time we face a challenge like this, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

製造鋰金屬陽極電池並不容易（聽不清），市場上已經有了。所以這不是我們第一次面臨這樣的挑戰，我相信也不會是最後一次。

Okay. And that leads us into our next question. We have roughly 8 weeks remaining in the quarter. How confident are you in your ability to hit the A sample goal by year-end?

好的。這導致我們進入下一個問題。本季度我們還有大約 8 週的時間。您對在年底前達到 A 樣本目標的能力有多大信心？

So John, as we laid out in the shareholder letter, we have a plan that we're executing to, under which we believe it remains possible to deliver an A sample by year-end. However, it's not a (inaudible). The time line is [not] tight. Things need to go right, and there's not a lot of margin for error. If unknowable issues come up, it will [present a] challenge relative to the near-term time line.

因此，約翰，正如我們在股東信中所述，我們有一個正在執行的計劃，根據該計劃，我們相信仍有可能在年底前交付 A 樣本。但是，它不是（聽不清）。時間線[不]很緊。事情需要順利進行，並且沒有太多的錯誤餘地。如果出現不可知的問題，它將[提出]相對於近期時間線的挑戰。

Having said that, when we do deliver 24-layer cells, it will be a massive milestone.

話雖如此，當我們交付 24 層細胞時，這將是一個巨大的里程碑。

Okay. Great. Turning over to you, Kevin. How does the continued macroeconomic uncertainty and challenging capital markets environment affect QuantumScape's plans and strategy?

好的。偉大的。交給你，凱文。持續的宏觀經濟不確定性和充滿挑戰的資本市場環境如何影響 QuantumScape 的計劃和戰略？

We can't control macroeconomics or the health of capital markets, which continue to be challenging and uncertain. What we can control is our cash use. There are 2 classes of opportunity (inaudible) spending, near term and long term, and we're exploring both. Near term on OpEx, it's things like flattening headcount growth relative to plan or in-sourcing services we were previously outsourcing given greater internal capabilities.

我們無法控制宏觀經濟或資本市場的健康狀況，它們仍然充滿挑戰和不確定性。我們可以控制的是我們的現金使用。有兩類機會（聽不清）支出，近期和長期，我們正在探索兩者。就 OpEx 而言，近期而言，由於內部能力更強，我們之前外包的計劃或內包服務的員工人數增長趨於平緩。

On CapEx, it's looking at ways to be more efficient with our spend. An example we gave in the letter is finding ways to utilize our Phase 2 engineering line equipment for the initial low-volume production on our QS-0 line. Long term, it's potential opportunities include the evaluation of entry into other markets and more capital-efficient business models. We do plan to end the year with over $1 billion in liquidity. We're not taking that for granted.

在資本支出方面，它正在尋找提高支出效率的方法。我們在信中給出的一個例子是想辦法利用我們的第 2 階段工程生產線設備在 QS-0 生產線上進行初始小批量生產。從長遠來看，它的潛在機會包括評估進入其他市場和更具資本效率的商業模式。我們確實計劃在年底擁有超過 10 億美元的流動性。我們並不認為這是理所當然的。

And as our letter references, we are continuing to look for additional opportunities, both near term and long term, to reduce these cash expenditures.

正如我們在信中提到的那樣，我們正在繼續尋找近期和長期的額外機會，以減少這些現金支出。

Okay. Thanks, Kevin. Our next series of questions come from Jose Asumendi of JPMorgan. He writes, when comparing the product development between automotive and consumer electronics end products, what are the commonalities in the product development or the synergies in the product learning curve for both products and end markets? What are the largest differences in the terms of the end product, size of cell, charging time, charging-discharge intensity, cycle times, et cetera?

好的。謝謝，凱文。我們的下一系列問題來自摩根大通的 Jose Asumendi。他寫道，在比較汽車和消費電子終端產品的產品開發時，產品開發的共性或產品和終端市場在產品學習曲線上的協同作用是什麼？最終產品、電池尺寸、充電時間、充放電強度、循環時間等方面的最大差異是什麼？

And then finally, do you foresee a larger chance to obtain commercial success earlier in consumer electronics products versus auto? Or is it more or less the same? So to summarize, he is really asking 3 questions. What are the commonalities, what are the differences and then what does the timing look like?

最後，您是否預見到消費電子產品比汽車更早獲得商業成功的機會更大？或者它或多或少是一樣的？總而言之，他實際上是在問 3 個問題。有什麼共同點，有什麼不同，然後時間是什麼樣子的？

Yes. This is -- these are great questions about the consumer market. So in most ways, the consumer electronics market has easier specs in automotive. For example, the charge rates are lower, the operating temperature requirements are not as stringent, the layer counts are lower. So all those are good things.

是的。這是 - 這些都是關於消費市場的好問題。因此，在大多數情況下，消費電子市場在汽車方面的規格更容易。例如，充電率較低，工作溫度要求不嚴格，層數較低。所以這些都是好事。

Offsetting these benefits is our belief this application requires zero externally applied pressure because physical space is limited in most consumer devices. And we believe this feature is hard to implement with lithium-metal anodes, which in the past have generally required pressure to operate. In fact, many groups over the decades have published papers suggesting that lithium metal intrinsically requires pressure to work. And so we see this as a scientific breakthrough.

抵消這些好處是我們相信這個應用程序需要零外部施加的壓力，因為物理空間在大多數消費設備中都是有限的。而且我們認為，這一特性很難用鋰金屬陽極實現，過去通常需要壓力才能運行。事實上，幾十年來，許多團體都發表了論文，表明鋰金屬本質上需要壓力才能工作。所以我們認為這是一個科學突破。

The fact that we've shown zero applied pressure in customer labs is what gives us confidence that we can, in fact, add value in consumer electronics. And this is also why we believe we're seeing strong demand pull from the consumer electronics companies. Now the market size for consumer devices, while it's over $10 billion in size is somewhat smaller than the potential market for automotive batteries. But this is also offset by the fact that it might provide a more direct and as you point out, Jose, potentially earlier path to market.

事實上，我們在客戶實驗室中的應用壓力為零，這讓我們相信我們實際上可以為消費電子產品增加價值。這也是為什麼我們認為我們看到消費電子公司的強勁需求拉動。現在消費設備的市場規模超過 100 億美元，但比汽車電池的潛在市場要小一些。但這也被它可能提供更直接的事實所抵消，正如您所指出的那樣，何塞，可能是更早的進入市場的途徑。

Relative to commonalities, what I would say is that a lot of the things that we need to do, such as a more efficient packaging, (inaudible) cathodes and so on applied to both markets. So we don't actually believe that serving this segment will take us too far off our long-term metric.

相對於共性，我想說的是，我們需要做的很多事情，比如更高效的包裝、（聽不清）陰極等都適用於這兩個市場。因此，我們實際上並不認為服務於這一細分市場會讓我們偏離我們的長期指標太遠。

Okay. Thanks so much, guys. We're now ready to begin the Q&A for the live Q&A portion of today's call. Operator, open the line for questions.

好的。非常感謝，伙計們。我們現在準備開始今天電話會議的實時問答部分的問答。接線員，打開問題線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Chris Snyder with UBS.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自瑞銀集團的克里斯·斯奈德（Chris Snyder）。

I appreciate all the updates today. So back in July, the company provided test results for the 24-layer prototype, which I think got to a bit over 100 cycles. Can you talk about what needs to be done to go from those results to the delivery of the A sample to the customer? Is it a kind of getting the results up to the gold standard test results, which the company has talked about in the past?

我感謝今天的所有更新。因此，早在 7 月，該公司就提供了 24 層原型的測試結果，我認為它的循環次數超過了 100 次。您能否談談從這些結果到將 A 樣品交付給客戶需要做些什麼？是不是讓結果達到公司過去所說的金標準測試結果？

Yes. So first of all, every customer has a different set of tests that they plan to run on the A sample, the 24-layer A sample. So there's not a single sort of test that covers all customers. Now the cells we reported on this summer were the very first 24-layer cells we have built, and we are very pleased that we were able to assemble them and actually get cycling results.

是的。所以首先，每個客戶都有一組不同的測試，他們計劃在 A 樣本上運行，即 24 層 A 樣本。因此，沒有一種測試可以覆蓋所有客戶。現在我們今年夏天報導的電池是我們建造的第一個 24 層電池，我們很高興我們能夠組裝它們並實際獲得循環結果。

But before we can deliver cells to customers, they need to obviously have a much higher level of confidence in terms of both performance and reliability and so on. And we have a process map up for how we get there, right? And that process is as follows. While we're in the development phase, we're doing a lot of design tweaks to try to improve performance and overall behavior. But at some point, when we're ready to start making cells to ship, we do what's called -- we run what's called the sampling campaign. And that starts by freezing many of the key parameters of the design [itself] because once we freeze the parameters, that's when we can start ramping up production volumes internally of our separator films of cells.

但在我們將電池交付給客戶之前，他們顯然需要在性能和可靠性等方面有更高的信心。我們有一個關於我們如何到達那裡的流程圖，對吧？該過程如下。當我們處於開發階段時，我們正在進行大量的設計調整以嘗試提高性能和整體行為。但是在某些時候，當我們準備開始製造細胞以進行運輸時，我們會做所謂的——我們會進行所謂的採樣活動。首先要凍結設計[本身]的許多關鍵參數，因為一旦我們凍結了這些參數，我們就可以開始在我們的電池隔膜內部提高產量。

As we make more films, we then build more cells with those films. We then put those cells on test. We usually -- we try and test the same -- under the same protocol that the customer will test the cells. Based on those test results, we assess whether we're ready to ship or not. And once we say we're ready to ship, we build cells for customers and basically select the ones that we want to ship based on the data that we've generated through the previous testing internally.

隨著我們製作更多的電影，我們會用這些電影構建更多的細胞。然後我們對這些細胞進行測試。我們通常——我們嘗試和測試相同的——在客戶測試電池的相同協議下。根據這些測試結果，我們評估我們是否準備好發貨。一旦我們說我們準備好發貨，我們就會為客戶構建單元，並根據我們通過先前內部測試生成的數據基本上選擇我們想要發貨的單元。

So that's the process that we have. And where we are in the process right now is we've -- as we said in the letter, we have, in fact, frozen the major design parameters. I want to make clear that there are other parameters that we will continue to be improving based on these test results. As we put cells on tests and we learn things, we will, in fact, incorporate insights. So freezing design parameters doesn't mean that there's -- there are going to be no tweaks at all being made, but the major parameters are already selected.

這就是我們的流程。而我們現在所處的過程是我們已經 - 正如我們在信中所說，事實上，我們已經凍結了主要的設計參數。我想明確指出，我們將根據這些測試結果繼續改進其他參數。當我們對細胞進行測試並學習東西時，我們實際上會整合洞察力。因此，凍結設計參數並不意味著——根本不會進行任何調整，而是已經選擇了主要參數。

Then we will use those separator films to make cells, 24-layer cells, which we will put on tests. And we're in the process right now of ramping up film production. We've said before our goal for the year is to ramp up to around 8,000 films per week -- for the peak week. That still remains our goal, and we want to get to that goal because that's what will allow us to make enough cells to test internally to get the confidence that we need.

然後我們將使用這些隔膜製造電池，24層電池，我們將對其進行測試。我們現在正在加快電影製作。我們之前已經說過，我們今年的目標是每週增加大約 8,000 部電影——高峰週。這仍然是我們的目標，我們希望達到這個目標，因為這將使我們能夠製造足夠的細胞進行內部測試，以獲得我們需要的信心。

And then finally, when we do all that, if the cells perform the way that we believe they need to be, it gives us confidence that's when we ship to customers. That's kind of the process and where we are right now in the stage where we're freezing the major parameters and are ramping up production to start building these cells to test internally.

最後，當我們完成所有這些工作時，如果細胞按照我們認為它們需要的方式運行，那麼當我們向客戶發貨時，它就會給我們信心。這就是這樣的過程，我們現在處於凍結主要參數並提高產量以開始構建這些電池以進行內部測試的階段。

We really appreciate that color around that process. I guess kind of just following up on potential tweaks to the parameters. Would those come internally from QuantumScape as you're analyzing the test results and your making tweaks? Or would they come -- or could it also come from feedback from the customer after the A sample [have shipped]?

我們真的很欣賞這個過程的顏色。我想只是跟進對參數的潛在調整。當您分析測試結果並進行調整時，這些是否來自 QuantumScape 內部？或者他們會來 - 或者它也可能來自 A 樣品 [已發貨] 後客戶的反饋？

Yes. So initially, obviously, this will be our own testing that will allow us to determine whether anything needs to be changed or not. I mean ideally, there's no tweaks at all, right? We freeze the design, and it works exactly as it's supposed to. But usually, in the real world, you discover things as you start to make larger volumes and so on.

是的。所以最初，很明顯，這將是我們自己的測試，這將使我們能夠確定是否需要更改任何內容。我的意思是理想情況下，根本沒有任何調整，對吧？我們凍結了設計，它完全按照預期工作。但通常，在現實世界中，當你開始製作更大的體積時，你會發現一些東西，等等。

Once we ship cells to customers, of course, they will test them in their labs, and they will provide additional feedback. But the hope is that the cells we deliver to them will work as advertised and the feedback that they have will be largely in terms of longer-term maturity of the cells, things like the B samples and C samples and so on.

當然，一旦我們將電池運送給客戶，他們就會在實驗室中對其進行測試，並提供額外的反饋。但希望我們交付給他們的細胞能夠像宣傳的那樣工作，他們的反饋主要是細胞的長期成熟度，比如 B 樣品和 C 樣品等。

Our next question comes from the line of Yan Dong with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的嚴東。

I wanted to sort of zero in on this contaminant issue. Could you just help us understand why it sort of only appears, if that's the case in the 24-layer (inaudible) and that the earlier version of the cells, just technically, if that's possible to explain?

我想在這個污染問題上歸零。你能不能幫助我們理解為什麼它只出現在 24 層（聽不清）和早期版本的單元格中，如果可以解釋的話，從技術上講？

Yes. So the contaminant appeared in our -- within our separator film (inaudible) material, and our film is based on a number of precursors that we get from suppliers. Now when our suppliers change things, the way they partner their materials, and they sometimes make changes to improve the behavior of the materials. Sometimes those changes have side effects. And sometimes, we don't detect the side effects until we made films out of them, put them into cells, find the cells that are having issues and then have to potentially reverse engineer what changed.

是的。因此，污染物出現在我們的隔膜（聽不清）材料中，我們的薄膜基於我們從供應商處獲得的許多前體。現在，當我們的供應商改變事情，他們合作材料的方式，他們有時會做出改變以改善材料的行為。有時這些變化會產生副作用。有時，直到我們用它們製作薄膜，將它們放入細胞中，找到有問題的細胞，然後必須潛在地對發生的變化進行逆向工程，我們才會發現副作用。

So in this particular case, actually, the team did a really amazing job. This particular contaminant wasn't easily visible. So the team had to first identify that these issues were related to this other contaminant in the film. They then had to identify what the chemical composition of that was, then identify which potential precursor material was the source of that contaminant. They had to work with the supplier to reformulate that source, that the precursor material, then had to get the new material, [remake] films, remake cells, tested, confirmed that, in fact, those cells did not have a meaningful amount of that contaminant left and that reducing that contaminant, in fact, delivered better performance.

因此，在這種特殊情況下，實際上，團隊做得非常出色。這種特殊的污染物不容易看到。因此，團隊必須首先確定這些問題與影片中的其他污染物有關。然後，他們必須確定其化學成分是什麼，然後確定哪種潛在的前體材料是該污染物的來源。他們必須與供應商合作重新制定該來源，即前體材料，然後必須獲得新材料，[重製]薄膜，重製電池，測試，確認這些電池實際上沒有有意義的數量污染物離開了，減少污染物，事實上，提供了更好的性能。

All those things had to get done and were done. And that's what we're excited about the team (inaudible) great job with that. Now obviously, that, as I mentioned earlier, [resulted] in our time lines being a little tighter than we would have liked. But the fact that our goal of shipping 24-cells this year remains intact, is again a testament to just what the team did.

所有這些事情都必須完成並且已經完成。這就是我們對團隊（聽不清）出色的工作感到興奮的地方。現在很明顯，正如我之前提到的，[導致]我們的時間線比我們希望的要緊一些。但是，我們今年交付 24 節電池的目標保持不變，這再次證明了團隊所做的事情。

I just have a follow-up. With regard to the JV pilot facility, the QS-1, it was mentioned in the shareholder letter that the decision will be either Germany or the U.S. Could you provide us with some consideration of factors that would tilt your decision towards either way -- either Germany or the U.S.?

我只是有後續。關於合資試驗設施 QS-1，在股東信中提到，決定將是德國或美國。您能否向我們提供一些考慮因素，這些因素會使您的決定傾向於任何一種方式——要么德國還是美國？

That's a great question. I think the decision there would be the ones that you would come up with operationally in terms of the cost and availability of inputs and also quite relevantly the prevalence and applicability of different incentive packages. As you know, recently passed was the IRA, which establishes incentives in the U.S. for closed loop domestic U.S. production to support a battery supply chain. That's, of course, something that both teams are evaluating in that site selection decision.

這是一個很好的問題。我認為，您會根據投入的成本和可用性以及與不同激勵方案的普遍性和適用性相當相關的方面做出決策。如您所知，最近通過的是 IRA，它在美國建立了對美國國內生產的閉環激勵措施，以支持電池供應鏈。當然，這是兩個團隊在選址決策中都在評估的東西。

Our next line of question comes from the line of Jordan Levy with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自於 Truist Securities 的 Jordan Levy。

Clearly, you're all taking a strategic approach to the A sample process. Can you maybe talk to the importance of doing the comprehensive internal sample campaign that you talked to? And what sort of flow through that could have through the rest of the OEM qualification process?

顯然，你們都對 A 樣本流程採取了戰略性方法。您能否談談進行與您交談過的全面內部樣本活動的重要性？在 OEM 資格認證過程的其餘部分中可能會有什麼樣的流程？

Yes. No, this is an important point. I mean, a company at our stage has to be very [cognizant] of the fact that any cells, any samples we deliver to customers will be the basis of potentially lasting impressions that they get. And so we just need to make sure that the probability is very high that the cells we do deliver work as advertised. And so in order to do that, we've developed this campaign methodology that I took you through.

是的。不，這是很重要的一點。我的意思是，處於我們這個階段的公司必須非常[認識到]這樣一個事實，即我們提供給客戶的任何細胞、任何樣品都將成為他們獲得潛在持久印象的基礎。所以我們只需要確保我們提供的細胞按照宣傳的方式工作的可能性非常高。因此，為了做到這一點，我們開發了我帶您了解的這種活動方法。

And what we found in the past with previous deliveries is this methodology allows us to really ensure a relatively high level of product quality that goes to the customer. And generally speaking, the product tend to work as advertised. So that is again the goal here. And the reason why this is important is because once this A sample is delivered and the product works as it's expected to work, it does, in fact, turn the focus to subsequent milestones. And those will, in fact, include the things that you mentioned like the B sample or either C sample. But at this point, to be honest, our immediate focus is delivering the A samples, we don't want to get distracted by things that are beyond that right now. (inaudible) essentially all eyes on trying to deliver (inaudible) A samples. And once we do that (inaudible) then work with the OEMs on subsequent (inaudible).

我們在過去的交付中發現的是，這種方法使我們能夠真正確保提供給客戶的產品質量相對較高。一般來說，該產品往往像宣傳的那樣工作。所以這又是這裡的目標。這一點之所以重要，是因為一旦交付了這個 A 樣品並且產品按預期工作，它確實將焦點轉向了後續的里程碑。實際上，這些將包括您提到的 B 樣本或 C 樣本。但在這一點上，老實說，我們當前的重點是交付 A 樣本，我們不想被現在超出的事情分心。 （聽不清）基本上所有的目光都集中在試圖提供（聽不清）A 樣本上。一旦我們這樣做了（聽不清），然後就與原始設備製造商合作（聽不清）。

And just as a quick follow-up. You talked to the hybrid cell architecture. I was just wondering if that design introduces any additional things that need to be addressed in your collaborations with the OEMs? Or is this something that you work through kind of later stages (inaudible)?

就像快速跟進一樣。您談到了混合單元架構。我只是想知道該設計是否引入了您與原始設備製造商合作需要解決的任何其他問題？或者這是你在後期階段工作的東西（聽不清）？

No, that's a good point. The design that we outlined in the shareholder letter is in some ways a template. It shows you what this architecture can do and what the cell might look like. Every OEM is going to have, to some extent, a relatively customized battery pack and therefore, customized needs relative to cell dimensions.

不，這是一個很好的觀點。我們在股東信中概述的設計在某些方面是一個模板。它向您展示了此架構可以做什麼以及單元格可能是什麼樣子。在某種程度上，每個 OEM 都將擁有一個相對定制的電池組，因此，與電池尺寸相關的定制需求。

And -- so we may well take this architecture and implement it in a somewhat different size to accommodate the different pack that module design that the OEM has. But those are relatively, I would say, relatively small changes (inaudible) dimensions, but keeping the same overall architecture. If an OEM has a brilliant idea or another way to package lithium-metal cells while meeting the goals that we lay out in the letter like dealing with this in metal expansion, dissipating heat, having an efficient package that's manufactured and so on. Of course, we'd be very open (inaudible) welcome that input.

並且——所以我們很可能採用這種架構並以稍微不同的大小實現它，以適應 OEM 擁有的模塊設計的不同包。但我會說，這些是相對較小的變化（聽不見）尺寸，但保持相同的整體架構。如果 OEM 有一個絕妙的想法或其他方式來包裝鋰金屬電池，同時滿足我們在信中提出的目標，例如在金屬膨脹、散熱、製造高效封裝等方面進行處理。當然，我們會非常開放（聽不清）歡迎該意見。

But based on the work we've done, we see this design as an innovative way to get all these requirements. And the customers we've spoken to have given us very encouraging feedback on it, recognizing that the specific (inaudible) may vary by the specific OEMs needs.

但根據我們所做的工作，我們認為這種設計是一種滿足所有這些要求的創新方式。我們交談過的客戶給了我們非常鼓舞人心的反饋，他們認識到具體（聽不清）可能會因具體的 OEM 需求而異。

Our next question comes from the line of Ben Kallo with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自Ben Kallo 與Baird 的對話。

Just maybe along the same lines on the cell architecture. Could you talk about how, I guess, that applies to just the customers that you started working with on the auto side and how you prioritize them based on that architecture, if that changes at all? And then also on the consumer electronics, how does that cell architecture impacts consumer electronics and where do you have the total addressable market, if there's a subset of that with -- that can be [reached] with the architecture needed?

可能只是在單元架構上遵循相同的路線。您能否談談，我想，這僅適用於您開始在汽車方面與之合作的客戶，以及您如何根據該架構對他們進行優先級排序（如果情況發生變化）？然後在消費電子產品方面，這種單元架構如何影響消費電子產品？你在哪裡擁有整個可尋址市場，如果有其中的一個子集——可以通過所需的架構[達到]？

Yes, absolutely. So the beauty of this architecture from our perspective is it is an architecture as opposed to a point design. And what that means is that we believe this architecture actually applies across the full spectrum of applications for what we're doing. And so for example, the A sample could be a specific set of dimensions with the same design.

是的，一點沒錯。因此，從我們的角度來看，這種架構的美妙之處在於它是一種架構，而不是點設計。這意味著我們相信這種架構實際上適用於我們正在做的所有應用程序。例如，A 樣本可能是一組具有相同設計的特定維度。

The C sample or some production cell that certain OEM needs could be a different set of dimensions but with the same basic design, a consumer cell, we believe also could be built in the same basic architecture. It would be a smaller cell. It wouldn't be as big as one of these automotive cells showing in the rendering in the letter. But you can imagine the same basic design. Remember that the key aspect of the design is that you take your cell stack, which is the active layers, the cathodes, the separators and so on.

某些 OEM 需要的 C 樣品或一些生產單元可能是一組不同的尺寸，但具有相同的基本設計，一個消費單元，我們相信也可以構建在相同的基本架構中。這將是一個較小的單元格。它不會像信中的渲染圖中顯示的這些汽車電池之一那麼大。但是您可以想像相同的基本設計。請記住，設計的關鍵方面是採用電池堆，即活性層、陰極、隔膜等。

And you have this metal frame that goes around the stack. They [don't] need to be metal. It's just a frame that -- rigid frame that goes around stack. And then you wrap the whole thing in a laminate -- that's similar to pouch cell material. And with that approach, what happens is that as you can see the laminate, the offset between the frame and the face of the cell itself becomes a region that can be filled as the cell expands.

你有這個圍繞堆棧的金屬框架。它們[不需要]是金屬的。它只是一個框架——圍繞堆棧的剛性框架。然後你把整個東西包裹在一個層壓板上——這類似於軟包電池材料。通過這種方法，正如您所看到的層壓板，框架和電池本身的表面之間的偏移變成了一個可以隨著電池擴展而被填充的區域。

So when the cell charge -- when the cell is fully discharged, the face of the cell is (inaudible) a little bit from the frame as image on the left shows (inaudible). And when you charge it up as lithium comes out of the cathode and plates onto the anode -- forming the anode [in situ], it essentially expands, and the face of the cell becomes close to flush with the frame. So that basic design can work independently of how big it is or what application is deployed in.

因此，當電池充電時——當電池完全放電時，電池的正面（聽不清）離框架有點遠，如左側圖像所示（聽不清）。當你給它充電時，鋰從陰極出來並鍍到陽極上——在原位形成陽極，它基本上會膨脹，電池的表面變得接近與框架齊平。因此，基本設計可以獨立於它有多大或部署在什麼應用程序中。

And that's the part that we're excited about. We think that this is a really innovative way to solve the issue of lithium-metal expansion. We talked about this particular package architecture in this letter because we've got a lot of questions from investors over the last couple of years on how we will deal with -- how we kind of deal with lithium-metal expansion. That's a unique -- that's a characteristic of lithium-metal anode cells, if you want, the energy density, the lithium metal can potentially offer, you have to address this expansion of the cell.

這就是我們興奮的部分。我們認為這是解決鋰金屬膨脹問題的真正創新方法。我們在這封信中討論了這種特殊的封裝架構，因為在過去的幾年裡，我們收到了很多投資者關於我們將如何處理的問題——我們將如何處理鋰金屬的擴張。這是獨一無二的——這是鋰金屬陽極電池的特性，如果你想要鋰金屬可能提供的能量密度，你必須解決電池的這種膨脹問題。

But because of the expansion is uniaxial, it's along 1 dimension, it can, in fact, be accommodated through a design like the one that we presented here. So we believe this is an exciting package -- an exciting architecture that should provide investors with a good idea relative to how we deal with lithium expansion.

但由於膨脹是單軸的，它是沿一維的，事實上，它可以通過我們這裡介紹的設計來適應。所以我們相信這是一個令人興奮的方案——一個令人興奮的架構，應該為投資者提供一個關於我們如何處理鋰擴張的好主意。

There are no additional questions waiting at this time. (Operator Instructions).

目前沒有其他問題在等待。 （操作員說明）。

Okay. So I just want to thank you all for joining today's call. In closing, I'd like to thank our investors for their ongoing support of our mission, our forward-thinking customers for their commitment to helping us get the technology to market. And of course, our amazing team of incredibly talented and dedicated team members to overcome the hard problems associated with bringing a new technology like ours to market. We look forward to reporting our further progress in the coming quarters.

好的。所以我只想感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。最後，我要感謝我們的投資者對我們使命的持續支持，感謝我們有遠見的客戶致力於幫助我們將技術推向市場。當然，我們驚人的團隊由才華橫溢且敬業的團隊成員組成，他們克服了將像我們這樣的新技術推向市場的難題。我們期待在未來幾個季度報告我們的進一步進展。

And with that, we will conclude today's QuantumScape Corp. Third Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

至此，我們將結束今天的 QuantumScape Corp. 2022 年第三季度財報電話會議。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開線路。