Lithium ion battery maker Boston-Power raises $60M

Boston-Power Inc. has won a new round of venture capital worth $60 million, which will help the company to grow its operations in Massachusetts, the company announced.

Christina Lampe-Önnerud, founder and CEO of the Westborough-based lithium ion battery maker, said the funding will support the company’s next stage of worldwide growth and is “good news for Massachusetts.” The company plans to scale up its manufacturing operations in Taiwan along with its research, development and marketing operations in Massachusetts, Lampe-Önnerud said in an interview.

Of the company’s current 510 employees, 110 are based in Westborough, she said. The company expects to double its staff in the next two or three years as part of the expansion, Lampe-Önnerud said.

Boston-Power has attracted a total of $185 million in venture capital since being founded in 2005. The latest round, Series E, did not see any new investors. The round was led by Foundation Asset Management and Oak Investment Partners, and also saw participation from Venrock and Gabriel Venture Partners.

The company’s batteries are being used in some HP laptops, and earlier this month, ASUS announced it would ship a new line of business notebooks powered by Boston-Power’s Sonata battery pack.

In transportation, Boston-Power has deals to supply batteries to several electric vehicle projects, including the ZE Saab 9-3, Saab’s planned all-electric vehicle. The company has also entered the utility energy storage market and plans to announce some of its customers in that market later this year, Lampe-Önnerud said.

Read the full story in Mass High Tech.