Battery startup QuantumScape's new move

The intrigue: The announcement signals the evolving business plan of QuantumScape, whose backers include VW and the Bill Gates-led Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

• "While we have historically focused on automotive applications, we believe our battery technology is broadly applicable and can play a role in other sectors contributing to a lower-carbon future," CEO Jagdeep Singh said in a statement.

How it works: Fluence — a joint venture between Siemens and AES Corp. — is reserving batteries from a QuantumScape pre-pilot facility for testing.

• "The companies expect to enter into a large-scale supply agreement in the course of the collaboration," they said.