** Shares of battery tech startup QuantumSpace rise 10% to $5.70 premarket
** Company says it has begun producing prototype B-Sample cells, fulfilling its main goal for 2024, ahead of schedule
** Adds cells are being shipped to automotive customers for testing
** Cash runway remains into 2028 as a $134 mln payment from Volkswagen unit PowerCo was released based on satisfactory technical progress
** "An encouraging update as QS announced B-sample shipments alongside impressive cell data, manufacturing progress and operational efficiencies that support the company's cash runway moving forward" - TD Cowen
** Stock down 25.5% this year
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru)
((Akash.Sriram@thomsonreuters.com; ))