Batteries are an integral part of Tesla’s business and the company is always looking to further improve in this regard. To that end, the company today confirmed its acquisition of battery technology company Maxwell. This San Diego-based company has been acquired by Tesla for $4.75 per share, valuing the deal at $218 million.
Maxwell Technologies says that it already has board approval for the deal and that the acquisition should be closed either in or shortly after the second quarter of this year.
Tesla hasn’t really detailed why it chose to acquire Maxwell, only saying that “We are always looking for potential acquisitions that make sense for the business and support Tesla’s mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
One can bet that Tesla bought this company for its energy storage and power delivery technology, something it has been doing since Maxwell was founded in 1965. That technology might enable Tesla to produce batteries that can not only hold more energy but also last longer, thus enabling Tesla’s cars to travel further distances on a single charge.
Maxwell announced in January that it had developed and patented a “dry electrode” technology which could significantly improve the driving range as well as reduce the cost of batteries for electric vehicles. Maxwell said that it expected alliances built around this technology “within six months.”