Maxwell Technologies

The company was founded in 1965 as Maxwell Laboratories Inc. by Raymond C. O'Rourke, Alan Kolb, Bruce Hayworth, and Terrence C. Gooding in San Diego, California. Maxwell Laboratories was originally a government contractor, providing advanced physics, pulsed power, space effects analysis and other research and development services to the U.S. military and other government agencies. The company began converting its focus to commercial applications for its technologies and products in the early 1990s, and by 2014, generated all of its revenue from commercial sources.[4] In 1996, Maxwell Laboratories, Inc. changed its name to Maxwell Technologies, Inc.[5]

Maxwell Energy Products, a division that included the Maxwell High Voltage Capacitor product line, was acquired in March 2000 by General Atomics, eventually merging into General Atomics Electronic Systems, Inc. in 2003.

In 2007, Maxwell Technologies won US$3 million contract from Astrium Satellites to supply computers for European Space Agency’s ‘Gaia’ Astronomy mission. Maxwell supplied seven Maxwell SCS750 SBCs to process images and data gathered by the satellite's camera.[6]

In November 2013, Maxwell Technologies opened manufacturing facility in Peoria, Arizona.[7]

In December 2013, Maxwell Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SK Innovation to develop the next generation energy storage with Maxwell's ultracapacitors and SK's lithium-ion batteries.[8]

In April 2016, Maxwell completed its sale of its microelectronics product line to Data Device Corporation.[9]

In April 2017, Maxwell Technologies acquired the Nesscap Energy Business.[10]

In February 2019, Tesla announced that it planned to acquire Maxwell Technologies,[11][12][13] and completed the deal on May 15, 2019, for US$218 million.[14]