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QuantumScape announced the QS PowerBlock, a modular solid-state lithium-metal battery system for AI data centers that delivered four times the power density and five times the runtime of Open Compute Project Open Rack V3 benchmarks in controlled prototype testing. The system brings QuantumScape's solid-state cells into 800VDC, in-rack energy storage that exceeds key OCP specifications and targets 1 MW AI racks, positioning the technology directly inside the power architecture of next-generation data centers. The company has also joined the Open Compute Project, aligning the QS PowerBlock with OCP Open Rack V3 specifications and ecosystem partners, a move that could shape future customer billings and the pace at which its licensing model gains traction beyond autos. QuantumScape's narrative projects $242.3 million in revenue and $13.7 million in earnings by 2029, an earnings increase of about $418.7 million from -$405.0 million today, while more optimistic analysts project about US$335.6 million of revenue by 2029. The company still faces near-term execution risk around Eagle Line scale-up and converting development work into paid, recurring programs.

The all-solid-state battery concept has once again been heatedly speculated by the market. The A-share battery sector rose against the trend amid a sluggish broader market. On October 9, CATL rose 3.84 percent, with turnover of 16.028 billion yuan and net main capital inflow of nearly 2.61 billion yuan. Tinci Materials, Farasis Energy, Great Power Energy and other stocks also moved higher during the same period. According to a review by China Times reporters, the solid-state battery progress of multiple battery and battery material companies is mostly still in the research and development or pilot stage, and large-scale mass production is still far off. At present, no company has put forward a mass-production timeline for all-solid-state batteries. Great Power Energy said there is currently no mass-production timeline, and it depends on upstream raw material prices. The raw materials are mainly solid electrolytes, and no production line has been built yet; it is only at the pilot stage. Tinci Materials said its solid-state battery electrolyte follows the sulfide route and is in the pilot stage, with one pilot production line put into use in the third quarter. Some industry insiders expect that mass production of all-solid-state batteries should occur no earlier than 2028 to 2030, and the current stage is equivalent to technical verification. On the policy front, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry, the first national-level special plan in China's battery field. It proposes that by 2030, all-solid-state batteries will initially achieve large-scale application, long-life lithium batteries will reach a cycle life of 15,000 times, and 19 tasks will be deployed around five major directions including full-chain innovation.

Amprius Technologies announced in late September 2026 that it entered into a US$75 million fixed-price Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Government for Project acCELLerate, alongside a separate U.S. Department of War IBAS grant, to build secure domestic high-energy density battery production for small unmanned aerial systems. The awards position Amprius to retrofit an existing South Korea-linked EV battery line into a U.S.-compliant facility capable of producing 12 million silicon-anode cells annually for NDAA-compliant defense customers. The company had already lifted its August 2026 guidance to at least US$140 million in full-year revenue with a narrower net loss. Amprius' narrative projects US$415.0 million in revenue and US$53.6 million in earnings by 2029, yielding a US$22.12 fair value, while the most cautious analysts assume about US$362 million of revenue and roughly US$40 million of earnings by 2029. The growing dependence on government-backed drone programs also concentrates risk should procurement cycles shift.

The 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry, jointly formulated by seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was officially released on September 28, proposing that all-solid-state batteries achieve initial large-scale application by 2030. Boosted by this news, the solid-state battery concept surged again on the morning of September 30, with Transart Technology, Shanghai Xiba, and Xin Ya Zhi Cheng hitting limit up, while lithium battery materials company Lopal Technology was pulled up to a 9.99 percent limit-up. The plan makes arrangements for developing advanced battery materials and high-end manufacturing equipment, proposing to develop isostatic pressing equipment for solid-state batteries, and to develop solid-state electrolytes such as sulfide and halide materials with high air stability, as well as high-performance polymer composite solid-state electrolytes. Lopal Technology recently stated that its solid-state battery precursor product D392 is a high-nickel ternary precursor material tailored for solid-state batteries and launched by its wholly owned subsidiary Sanjin Lithium. Through measures such as element doping and structural adjustment, it has been made more stable, safer, and longer-lasting, and can better solve problems in solid-state batteries such as cracking of cathode materials and high-temperature decomposition of materials.

On the morning of September 29, battery-related stocks continued to strengthen, with Gotion High-Tech surging to the daily limit shortly after the market opened, and buy orders at the top of the order book once exceeding one million lots. After the market close yesterday, Gotion High-Tech announced that the company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries plan to sign investment agreements with Volkswagen Group and its subsidiaries to establish three joint ventures in Spain, Slovakia, and Morocco, investing in the construction of lithium battery and cathode material production bases, with a total project investment of approximately 3.222 billion euros. Recently, seven government departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry, proposing that by 2030, the scale of China's new battery industry will grow steadily, all-solid-state batteries will initially achieve large-scale application, long-life lithium batteries will reach a cycle life of 15,000 cycles, and leading companies will achieve defect rates at the PPB level. China Securities Co., Ltd. pointed out that 2026 to 2027 is a critical window for validating the mass production process of all-solid-state batteries, and the first batch of gigawatt-hour-level all-solid-state demonstration lines is expected to be launched, with a positive outlook on the allocation value of lithium battery equipment and solid-state battery sectors.

Jin Yinhe announced on the evening of September 27 that it plans to issue A-shares to no more than 35 specific investors, with the number of shares not exceeding 67.8599 million, representing 30 percent of the 226.1996 million total shares outstanding before this issuance, and total funds raised not exceeding 1.5 billion yuan. After deducting issuance expenses, the proceeds will be allocated as follows: 490 million yuan to the industrialization project for high-end intelligent equipment for sodium-ion batteries, consumer lithium batteries, solid-liquid batteries, and new energy storage batteries; 290 million yuan to the research and construction project for high-end intelligent equipment for dry electrodes and solid-state batteries; 270 million yuan to phase one of the silicon-based materials and polymer materials construction project; 100 million yuan to the research and construction project for high-end intelligent equipment for silicone supercritical physical foaming and vacuum thermal reduction of rubidium and cesium metals; and 350 million yuan to supplement working capital. The company's existing equipment mainly targets front-end equipment for liquid lithium batteries, and this fundraising will comprehensively cover next-generation technology routes such as sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, consumer lithium batteries, and new energy storage. The construction period for all projects is 36 months. The after-tax internal rate of return for the sodium-ion battery equipment project is expected to be 15.49 percent, and for the silicon-based materials project 17.72 percent, with investment payback periods of 9.04 years and 7.32 years respectively. After the issuance is completed, Jin Yinhe's total share capital will increase from 226 million shares to approximately 294 million shares. The shareholding of controlling shareholder Zhang Qifa and his concert parties will be diluted from 19.06 percent to 14.66 percent, while control remains stable. In the first half of 2026, Jin Yinhe's dry electrode production equipment for solid-state batteries achieved batch sales and delivery, and in July 2026 it signed an equipment procurement order with Jinlongyu to supply 11 sets of front-end core equipment, including slurry mixing, coating, and cell baking, for its 2 gigawatt-hour solid-state battery mass production line project in the Dapeng New District of Shenzhen.