Dyson acquires battery firm, plans to build big factory

Nathan Bomey | USA TODAY

Vacuum cleaner manufacturer Dyson plans to build a major battery factory after acquiring a battery technology firm, the company's founder, James Dyson, told USA TODAY.

Dyson confirmed on Monday that it has acquired Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Sakti3 and plans to use the startup's solid-state lithium-ion technology to improve the battery life on its cordless vacuums, deliver new products and build a battery production plant.

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Dyson, founder and chief engineer of the United Kingdom-based manufacturing and technology giant, said that the company's battery production facility will require up to $1 billion in investment. Dyson said the U.S. is an option — including Sakti3's home state.

"I think there are lots of places we could do it, so we are keeping a very open mind about it at the moment," he said.

Entering the realm of advanced battery production for electric vehicles would put the U.K. company in direct competition with the likes of Silicon Valley's Tesla Motors, Panasonic and LG Chem. Tesla is currently building a massive factory in Reno, Nev., in conjunction with Panasonic to provide battery packs for its electric cars and stationary electrical storage units.

The $90 million acquisition — first reported by business-news site Quartz — reflects a win for clean-tech investors in Sakti3, including General Motors and Khosla Ventures. Dyson itself had already invested $15 million in Sakti3.

The University of Michigan spinoff company's founder and CEO Ann Marie Sastry will lead development of her technology as an executive for Dyson.

"We are very fortunate indeed to join and become a contributor to not only Dyson, but hopefully help get solid-state battery technology out into commercial products much, much more quickly and efficiently," Sastry, a former University of Michigan engineering professor who showed off her technology to President Obama in the White House earlier this year, said in an email.

Dyson is expected to begin integrating Sakti3's advanced solid-state battery technology into its systems within the next year or two.

Dyson and Sastry wouldn't address speculation on whether Sakti3's technology could still make its way into electric vehicles. Sakti3 garnered attention in 2014 when it claimed that its batteries were nearly twice as efficient as the batteries in Tesla's cars.

"Where this will take us isn’t yet something we can comment on, but it is sure to be exciting," Sastry said.

Dyson said he's not ruling out the possibility that Sakti3's technology could be licensed to other companies. He said the company's solid-state batteries are attractive because they don't overheat like liquid batteries and they can charge in "a matter of a few minutes as opposed to a few hours."

"They should last much longer as well," Dyson said.

The company is expected to pair Sakti3's solid-state batteries with its own internally developed digital motors.

The start-up's technology is merely one component of Dyson's broader $1.5 billion investment in R&D to develop new commercial products, Dyson said. For example, the company has invested in cleaning robots.

"Dyson’s really become a technology company," he said.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.