US-based Lithium Werks has acquired the industrial business of Michigan lithium battery peer A123 Systems.
Under the terms of the deal, Lithium Werks has taken over A123 Systems’ manufacturing plants in Changzhou, China— which it said were the first to introduce “the revolutionary NanoPhosphate technology in the form of cylindrical cells”.
Lithium Werks chairman Knut Nylaende said the acquisition would help to “propel Lithium Werks into a leadership position in the lithium iron phosphate market globally”.
Nylaende said the deal was financed through Lithium Werk’s working capital but did not disclose details.
The acquisition comes just weeks after Lithium Werks acquired “substantially all of the assets” of Texan lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery maker Valence Technologies.
Lithium Werks has also taken over customer relationships in China, Europe and the US, plus operations, staff and product designs associated with the Changzhou business.
A123 Systems’ VP of corporate strategy, Jeff Kessen, said the deal was in line with the firm’s plans to “sharpen its focus” on automotive applications ranging from mild-hybrids to fully-electric vehicles.
In 2014, A123 Systems sold its Chinese cathode materials manufacturing facility to Johnson Matthey, but retained ownership of its intellectual property and said it would maintain R&D facilities to further develop improvements of its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) formulation.
Last September, Peter Cirino was appointed CEO of A123 Systems, succeeding Jason Forcier, but the company did not give a reason for the decision.
The appointment came after A123 Systems said earlier in the year it was building a new headquarters but cutting jobs in the US.
