Bosch has bought American solid-state battery startup company Seeo

Robert Bosch GmbH, the German multinational engineering and electronics company, has bought American solid-state battery startup company Seeo, including all of its intellectual property and research staff.

9/5/15 5:00 am chumakdenis 1

Such move is a big play – German giant aims to penetrate the electric car space and get its slice of the pie.

A few words about Seeo

Founded in 2007, Seeo is known for its advancements in creating high-energy rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, based on a nano-structured polymer electrolyte.

Seeo uses solid state technology that avoids the use of flammable liquid electrolyte.

Using solid electrolyte, Seeo manufactures DryLyte batteries that deliver high energy density alongside impressive reliability and safety. Seeo has an exclusive license to core patents from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and has more than 30 issued, exclusively licensed and pending patent applications.

Financial terms of the deal

Linda Beckmeyer, a Bosch spokeswoman, said the financial terms of the deal won’t be released.

However, she said that Bosch has acquired all of Seeo’s intellectual property plus its research staff.

Doubled density

CEO Hal Zarem announced plans to battery with a specific energy density of 300 watt hours per kilogram, which would be about double that of existing commercial lithium-ion batteries. That feat has not been announced as of yet.

The deal is one of the first in a technology space that has been marked by gloom after the sharp optimism of five years ago. In acquiring Seeo, Bosch gets a company that has a good chance of success in producing batteries that will follow the current lithium-ion age, in the 2020s and beyond.

Cosmin Laslau, an analyst with Lux Research, told Quartz that Seeo had a setback last year in which it had to switch battery chemistries - a pivot that was seen as slowing its way into the market. In addition, its battery must be operated at 80 degrees Centigrade, which is extremely hot and is another barrier to the market.