Woodinville-based battery technology company Group14 Technologies has acquired German company Schmid Silicon, a company that produces a key gas for Group14's technology called silane.
The companies announced the acquisition on Monday but aren't disclosing financial terms of the deal.
Grant Ray, vice president of global market strategy for Group14, said the acquisition gives Group14 a key foothold in Europe.
"To move into being able to acquire silane technology is just a natural step in evolution for us," he said.
Group14 is also building a factory campus in Moses Lake that is set to open in mid-2024. Ray said the company is done moving earth and is now pouring concrete.
Moses Lake has cheap electrical power and a strong labor pool, but the central Washington city is also home to REC Silicon, a polysilicon producer for the solar industry that makes silane as a byproduct. The company closed its Moses Lake factory in 2019 due to the trade war with China, but after receiving a major investment last year from the South Korean manufacturing company Hanwha Corp., REC plans to reopen the plant this year.
Ray said the Schmid acquisition doesn't impact a potential partnership with REC for the large-scale amounts of silane Group14 would need for its electric vehicle ambitions. He added that Monday's acquisition is more about gaining a presence in Europe for the production of silane.
Ray said Group14 has nearly 200 employees, while Schmid currently has about 20 employees, all of whom are joining Group14. Schmid paused production at its silane factory in Germany and had to let go of employees, Ray said, but Group14 now plans to quintuple the headcount at the factory, including recalling many of the employees who left.
"We're going to be going into a big push pretty much immediately to bring the silane factory back up and running," Ray said.
Group14, founded in 2015, makes a silicon-based anode powder to replace the traditional graphite powder found in most batteries today. The goal is to make batteries cheaper, smaller and longer-lasting. Group14 is starting with consumer electronics but has its sights set on EVs. The company raised a $614 million Series C round last year and an extra $100 million from the Department of Energy.
Group14 is also building a joint factory in South Korea with SK Inc. German car company Porsche led the initial $400 million tranche of Group14's Series C. Ray said the Porsche connection makes the Schmid acquisition even more appealing.
In Moses Lake, Group14 will start with two manufacturing modules that will each produce 2,000 tons of the company's battery powder per year, but it plans to have at least six modules there eventually. Group14's facility in Woodinville can produce 120 tons per year.
In addition to its Moses Lake facility, Group14 opened an office in downtown Seattle earlier this year.
The company is also embroiled in a lawsuit with British competitor Nexeon. Group14 filed a complaint in September alleging Nexeon violated a nondisclosure agreement from 2016 that stemmed from a potential partnership, and that Nexeon stole trade secrets gained from trips to Group14 facilities.
