{ "docId": "019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-32b620517ee9", "docSlug": "2ec39f20dd86", "documentTitle": "QuantumScape (QS)", "authorId": "58_Scorpion_Capital", "authorName": "Scorpion Capital", "documentKindSlug": "activist-deck", "documentKindLabel": "Activist deck", "sourceTypeSlug": "short_seller", "sourceTypeLabel": "Short seller", "presentationDate": "2021-04-15 00:00:00", "orientation": "landscape", "aspectRatio": 1.3333334, "pageNumber": 149, "pageCount": 188, "prevPage": 148, "nextPage": 150, "slideType": "expose_contradiction", "function": "expose_contradiction", "density": "dense", "nDataPoints": 1, "notes": "The slide uses a 'villain critique' style to undermine the technical feasibility of the company's core product.", "elementsJson": [ "headline_text", "paragraph", "quote_block", "footnote" ], "metadataConfidence": 0.95, "imagePath": null, "slideHref": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-32b620517ee9/149", "deckHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-32b620517ee9", "deckJsonHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-32b620517ee9.json", "deckAnchorHref": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9a-32b620517ee9#slide-149", "components": [ { "bbox": null, "kind": "callout", "text": "Red flags around scaling and manufacturability render Quantumscape’s cells a pipe dream", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Visual emphasis", "toolSlug": "visual-emphasis", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d1-75b6-b063-9c1b4fe9884f", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.1, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.25 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "A former employee outlined the process of sintering – common to any type of ceramic material – and the super-human difficulties that arise at the impossibly thin levels required for a solid separator, especially at commercial scale over square miles of surface area.", "attrs": null, "subkind": "paragraph", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "8937a973-7001-452c-86ff-915d5c07de26", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.35, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.55 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "The super-human difficulties that arise in trying to make a thin separator: “But when you're doing something that's so thin over that big of a form factor, it makes an irregular shape, or it shrinks too much in certain areas. If there's a defect or debris, you can create a pinhole. Imagine if there's even a particle of dust that gets onto the surface. Trying to get the chemistry right to put into a furnace at that high of a temperature, and have it perfectly come together in order to make something that's super uniform, super-flat - imagine if the sample isn't 100% flat and you put it into a battery. If it's not flat, it's not going to interact with the cathode and anode in different places, and the pressure points are where you can definitely see a crack or a pinhole forming. Those pinholes will instantly short the battery.”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "60caf56d-5888-48cc-83d1-a5d51218e1dd", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.38 }, "kind": "quote", "text": "The process of sintering explained: “Imagine a piece of paper that's ridiculously thin, and you need to heat it up into a ceramic. Any ceramicist will tell you that you need to sinter and solidify that in an oven. You're taking it to a couple of thousand degrees so that ceramic can harden, stiffen, and typically shrink.”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "testimonial", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "f97aa23c-a9b0-4c44-8d47-897349d2a80e", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": null, "kind": "quote", "text": "“Imagine a piece of paper that's ridiculously thin, and you need to heat it up into a ceramic. Any ceramicist will tell you that you need to sinter and solidify that in an oven. You're taking it to a couple of thousand degrees so that ceramic can harden, stiffen, and typically shrink.” — Former employee; “But when you're doing something that's so thin over that big of a form factor, it makes an irregular shape, or it shrinks too much in certain areas. If there's a defect or debris, you can create a pinhole. Imagine if there's even a particle of dust that gets onto the surface. Trying to get the chemistry right to put into a furnace at that high of a temperature, and have it perfectly come together in order to make something that's super uniform, super-flat - imagine if the sample isn't 100% flat and you put it into a battery. If it's not flat, it's not going to interact with the cathode and anode in different places, and the pressure points are where you can definitely see a crack or a pinhole forming. Those pinholes will instantly short the battery.” — Former employee", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": "Authority citation", "toolSlug": "authority-citation", "confidence": null, "componentId": "019dd952-f5d1-75b6-b063-a3481fd46ac1", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.03, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.95 }, "kind": "source-note", "text": "Source: Scorpion Capital consultation calls with experts", "attrs": null, "subkind": null, "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "d5b9915a-b0dc-4945-9b3d-7307ad18c2ba", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.15, "w": 0.9, "x": 0.05, "y": 0.07 }, "kind": "title", "text": "Red flag 2: QS states their separator is made of a “magical” ceramic, but ceramic separators are highly problematic to manufacture, requiring a process called “sintering” at ~2400 ºF. Ex-employees: QS “having problems” even at coin-cell size; “very difficult problem”", "attrs": null, "subkind": "headline", "toolName": null, "toolSlug": null, "confidence": null, "componentId": "20176bcf-aac3-42db-a45f-a847fbbe20b0", "frameworkName": null, "frameworkSlug": null } ], "metrics": [], "tools": [], "frameworks": [ { "name": "antagonist-introduction", "slug": null, "matchId": "9e29ddac-693e-43bc-8700-002c048dee73", "evidence": "Frames the company's technology as a 'pipe dream' and uses expert testimony to highlight technical failures.", "confidence": 0.8 } ], "arcBeats": [ { "to": 150, "from": 7, "beatId": "bb56e2cc-71d0-4a88-adf5-a740e3b3215c", "arcName": "Overcoming the Monster", "arcSlug": "overcoming-monster", "beatName": "Critique of Quantumscape's claims and technology", "beatSlug": null, "evidence": "The document presents a detailed critique of Quantumscape's claims and technology.", "position": 0, "confidence": 0.8, "parentBeatName": null, "parentBeatSlug": null }, { "to": 149, "from": 8, "beatId": "f51b8fe3-6117-425f-a2bb-d0457528eb59", "arcName": "Overcoming the Monster", "arcSlug": "overcoming-monster", "beatName": "Exposure of contradictions and red flags in Quantumscape's data", "beatSlug": null, "evidence": "The document highlights multiple contradictions and red flags in Quantumscape's data.", "position": 1, "confidence": 0.8, "parentBeatName": null, "parentBeatSlug": null } ], "loops": [], "imagePathAlt": null, "thumbSrc": null, "thumbSrcAlt": null, "locked": true }