The Chinese start-up Qing Tao (Kunshan) Energy Development Co. Ltd launched its first production line of solid-state battery cells in the city of Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province.

The company is led by Nan Cewen, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who founded the company with several Ph.D graduates from Tsinghua University in 2014.

Through the investment of 1 billion yuan ($144 million) the company has developed a production line good for 0.1 GWh (100 MWh) of cells annually, which is about 1,000 100 kWh packs. It's not enough for the automotive industry, so the first cells will be utilized on "special equipment and high-end digital products".