# Maxwell Technologies



## chuckyvt (Feb 25, 2019)

I know most avoid Seeking Alpha articles, however the article below popped up on my news feed. This is the most detailed work I've seen to date as to what Tesla is likely going after in Maxwell.

I haven't seen this posted elsewhere, and is worth a read.

https://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4263851-tesla-maxwell-assessing-deal


----------



## Deadbattery (May 8, 2017)

Jack Rickard mentioned this in a couple of his recent videos. There is really really good stuff in his videos but HOLY COW unwatchable.

Laid it out very simply, Dry process anode coating, no solvents, no hazmat HUGE cost savings. Deal for Maxwell still not closed... pending


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

chuckyvt said:


> I know most avoid Seeking Alpha articles, however the article below popped up on my news feed. This is the most detailed work I've seen to date as to what Tesla is likely going after in Maxwell.


Randy Carlson has a lot of good articles over there.

Keep in mind that Seeking Alpha is just a blog. Anybody can create an account there and start writing articles. It just so happens to be mostly populated by TSLAQ.


----------



## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

Oh OK That explains it. I was wondering why this article seems legit.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Tesla completes Maxwell acquisition

Press Release:

Tesla Completes Acquisition of Maxwell Technologies


> PALO ALTO, Calif., May 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) today announced the successful completion of its previously announced offer to exchange all outstanding shares of common stock of Maxwell Technologies, Inc. ("Maxwell") for 0.0193 of a share of Tesla common stock, together with cash in lieu of any fractional shares of Tesla common stock, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes.
> 
> The exchange offer expired at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. As of the expiration of the exchange offer, a total of approximately 36,764,342 shares of common stock of Maxwell were validly tendered in the exchange offer and not validly withdrawn, representing approximately 79% of the aggregate voting power of the shares of Maxwell common stock outstanding immediately after the consummation of the exchange offer. All shares of Maxwell common stock that were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the expiration of the offer have been accepted by Tesla for payment in accordance with the terms of the exchange offer.
> 
> Following to the completion of the exchange offer, Tesla completed the acquisition of Maxwell by consummating the second step merger contemplated by the previously announced merger agreement between Tesla and Maxwell. As a result of this merger, all shares of Maxwell stock that were not tendered in Tesla's exchange offer were cancelled in exchange for the right to receive the same consideration paid for Maxwell stock in the exchange offer.


----------



## BluestarE3 (Oct 12, 2017)

Now comes the waiting game for an announcement or hints of what Tesla plans to use of Maxwell's technology.

If it's the battery tech, I wonder how Tesla will fold this in with their manufacturing partner, Panasonic.


----------



## Greg Appelt (Sep 27, 2018)

Can you imagine having supercapacitors as part of the charging equation? Pull up to a SC - spend less than 3 minutes to put 50Kwh of charge into the caps and then they charge the battery at a slower rate as you're driving? Yes there would be some very complex battery cell management, but "filling up" faster than gas? Also, no reason to expand the SC network other than to add 1-2 stalls in less populated areas. No more "40 minute charge limit signs".


----------



## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

Probably nothing to do with super capacitors. They don't work well for storage though they can charge and discharge rapidly. Charge level is directly proportional to charge voltage. 
Q=C X V where Q is charge amount and C is capacitance and V is voltage. Full discharge means zero voltage. 
For a LiIon battery full charge is about 4.2V and fully discharged is about 3.0V.

It is more likely that Tesla can use their 'dry' cell manufacturing process which costs substantially less, takes less space and time, and results in a lighter cell with longer life. Read the article linked to above.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Greg Appelt said:


> Can you imagine having supercapacitors as part of the charging equation?


Nope. The energy density is terrible.


garsh said:


> Let's put things in perspective. Let's take a Model S and replace its battery pack with a similarly-sized supercapacitor. Now instead of waiting at a supercharger for 20 minutes to get an 80% charge, you can recharge it from empty to 100% in about 2 seconds! Awesome! The downside, however, is that instead of a 300-mile range, you'd end up with a 15-mile range.


This acquisition was done for anode & cathode technology, to be applied for making better & cheaper battery cells.


chuckyvt said:


> https://seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4263851-tesla-maxwell-assessing-deal


----------



## Feathermerchant (Sep 17, 2018)

Please read the article, y'all it's not that hard to do.
There is apparently great promise for better, cheaper batteries here. Also a manufacturing process that is more friendly to the environment.


----------



## Love (Sep 13, 2017)

There _might _also be an ability to recapture more from regen braking, I'm guessing.

The nerd in me LOVES this acquisition and...


----------



## TrevP (Oct 20, 2015)

For all we know they could use ultra capacitors as high speed charging buffers for vehicles with larger batteries like the Semi and Roadster. 

Imagine the Roadster getting a super fast bump charge after launches... 😁


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

TrevP said:


> For all we know they could use ultra capacitors as high speed charging buffers for vehicles with larger batteries like the Semi and Roadster.


You'd need a supercapacitor the size of a Model S battery just to supply 15 miles of additional range.

Maxwell's "golden goose" is the anode & cathode production technology. At least, I haven't heard of them making any great leaps in supercapacitor energy density, or the thin insulators that would be required to make such an improvement.



> Imagine the Roadster getting a super fast bump charge after launches... 😁


In the car? You'd be better off just using the space to add more battery.

On the station side? A powerwall would be able to supply power at the vehicle's maximum rate, so a supercapacitor wouldn't really be required. You could use supercapacitors instead, but they would be about twenty times as large as the equivalent powerwalls in order to store the same amount of energy.


----------



## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

Sell the part of the business and patents they don't need.


----------



## Dr. J (Sep 1, 2017)

GDN said:


> Sell the part of the business and patents they don't need.


----------



## cllc (Feb 14, 2019)

I would add that using capacitors in parallel with the battery with maxwells battery management technology would allow better recapture of the regen braking energy which would reduce the charge /discharge cycles which will extend the battery life and reduce battery degradation.


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Dr. J said:


> View attachment 25995


 That's freaky. I was thinking of that same scene when I read that statement.


----------



## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

garsh said:


> That's freaky. I was thinking of that same scene when I read that statement.


birds of a feather... ?


----------



## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

GDN said:


> Sell the part of the business and patents they don't need.


Tesla has finally done so. 

They've sold the ultracapacitor business, associated patents, and the Maxwell name to a company called UCAP Power, which was started by several former Maxwell executives.
The only part they've kept was the dry electrode technology.

Supercapacitors will never be a replacement for batteries - the energy density is about* two orders of magnitude* too low.

https://thedriven.io/2021/07/22/tesla-sells-maxwell-technologies-but-keeps-dry-cell-tech/

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1417947305462812673


----------

