Our history

1901

Introduction of nickel-based technology by Thomas Edison and Waldemar Jungner, originally intended for electric vehicles.

1913

Franco-Swiss chemical engineer Victor Herold founds “La Société Industrielle des Accumulateurs Alcalins” (S.I.A.A.), based on Edison and Jungner technology, in Romainville, France. World War I prevents production from starting.

1918

S.I.A.A. production starts. Name change to “La Société des Accumulateurs Fixes et de Traction” (S.A.F.T.), which manufactures and distributes nickel-based batteries for industrial applications. Some of the first Saft batteries are used to power luggage trolleys in Paris railway stations.

1924

Saft S.A. shares listed on the Paris Stock Exchange

1928

Acquisition of Saft by Compagnie Générale d’Electricité (later to become Alcatel)

1936

French submarine Ouessant equipped with Saft's nickel-cadmium battery. Even if the submarine was underwater at a depth of 15 meters for two years (1940-1942), the battery remained intact.

1946

Cadmium Nickel Batteries established in the UK by Henry Bissell Ltd

1949

Creation of SAFTA in Belgium, Saft’s first subsidiary.

Inauguration of Saft’s Bordeaux factory in France.

1952

Acquisition of “La Pile Leclanché”, whose roots can be traced back to around 1880 when they first began producing Georges Leclanché’s revolutionary battery.

1955

Creation of the subsidiary Saft Corporation of America

1965

Saft files its first patents on primary lithium

Construction of Saft’s factory in Poitiers, France

1966

Creation of Saft UK, the British subsidiary

Launch of the Diapason 1A satellite on February 17, 1966

1969

Li-SOCl2 electrochemistry discovered by Saft

Concorde prototypes make their first flights using Saft nickel-based batteries

Saft Akkumulatoren und Batterien GmbH, the Germany subsidiary, created in Offenbach

1972

Saft Iberica, Spain, created in Vitoria

1974

Creation of Saft America Inc., with the construction of a factory in Valdosta, Georgia. Manufacturing began there in 1975.

1975

Inauguration of a new factory in Nersac, France

1980s

Mass production of primary lithium cells (Li-SOCl2 and Li-MnO2)

1980

Saft Singapore Ltd created

The CGE group slowly transitions into Alcatel and Alsthom

CGE decides to combine two of its battery subsidiaries into one and creates Saft-Mazda

1983

Creation of Saft Italia using the two agents already working for Saft in Cegelec Alsthom Italiana.

Acquisition of the Gould Battery Company, representing Saft’s first manufacturing capability of nickel-based portable cells in North America

1985

Creation of Saft Scandinavia

Sale of consumer battery activities to Bernard Tapie and acquisition of the activities of the industrial battery company Wonder

1987

Acquisition of Alcad Ltd, an international firm based in the UK and the US. Saft’s first significant entry into the American industrial standby market.

1988

Saft China created in Hong Kong and Shekou, the site of a factory. They produce and sell portable accumulators

Saft Australia Pty created

1989

French explorer Jean-Louis Étienne and his team embark on their Transantarctica mission for seven months, powered by Saft batteries.

1991

Acquisition of Saft's major nickel-based competitor for industrial batteries, NIFE in Oskarshamn, Sweden

1993

Purchase of Gates Aerospace Batteries, which produces batteries for satellites

1994

Saft America awarded TRP funds by the US military for development of lithium-ion products

1995

Alcatel repurchases all the shares of Saft S.A. that were de-listed in 1995

Saft aquires Ferak, once part of Prague Accumulors, based in Raskovice, Czech Republic. The company has been producing nickel-based batteries since 1934 under licence from DEAC, the company that produced Thomas Edison’s first battery.

Lockheed F-22 contract signed – the first application of Saft’s nickel AMFB (Aircraft Maintenance-Free Battery)

2000

Acquisition of Tadiran, an Israeli manufacturer of lithium batteries, with operations in Israel, the US and Germany. Disposal of some product lines to focus on the Lithium Thionyl Chloride technology

A new technology, the Pulse Plus, introduced by Tadiran is the main reason for the rapid growth of the company

2001

Acquisition of Hawker Eternacell, lithium battery supplier to the US and UK armed forces since 1937

Manufacturing of LiSo2, LiSOCl2, LiMnO2 begins in the UK

2003

Acquisition of the German company Friemann und Wolf Batterietechnik GmbH (Friwo), and the assets of Emisa and Centra, from Exide, producer of industrial nickel-based and lithium batteries for the defense industry and torpedoes.

Saft Batterie Italia SRL created

Saft Baterias S.L. created to cover the Spanish, Portuguese and South American markets. It is the outcome of Saft’s acquisition of some of EMISA’s (Exide Technologies) assets from Tudor Spain

Saft’s Czech subsidiary acquires CENTRA

The Northrop Grumman Global Hawk contract signed: the first lithium-ion aircraft application

2004

Saft sold by Alcatel to Doughty Hanson Funds (DHF)

The Mars Exploration Rovers “Spirit” and “Opportunity” land on Mars with Saft batteries on board.

2005

Saft becomes a Public Limited Company with shares listed on Paris Euronext

Saft’s Battery Energy Storage System in Fairbanks, Alaska, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s most powerful battery”

2006

Opening of Saft China in Zhuhai to support domestic market

Creation of joint-venture between Saft and Johnson Controls Inc. to develop, produce and sell advanced-technology batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs)

Saft takes control of AMCO Power Systems Ltd of Bangalore, the nickel-based battery business of Amalgamations private Ltd. The entity is called AMCO-Saft India Ltd.

EADS and Saft America combine their expertise in thermal batteries via ASB to form a new subsidiary, Advanced Thermal Batteries Inc., located in Cockeysville, Maryland

2007

Launch of Tel.X range, the most compact maintenance-free solution for telecom networks

2008

Saft, Conergy and Tenesol launch SOLION, Europe's largest photovoltaic energy storage development project

Johnson Controls-Saft opens world’s first production facility for lithium-ion hybrid vehicle batteries in Nersac, France

2010

International expansion continues with new subsidiary in Brazil

Launch of high-energy Evolion® lithium-ion battery system optimized for all telecom applications

2011

Inauguration of state-of-the-art lithium-ion plant in Jacksonville, FL (USA)

Launch of Intensium® Max megawatt-scale containerized energy storage system

Sale of shares in Johnson Controls-Saft joint venture

2012

Launch of first lithium-ion solution for railway applications designed for regenerative hybrid traction

Scuderia Ferrari recognises Saft with 2012 Innovation Award

2013

Li-ion battery on board the Airbus A350 XWB's maiden flight

Inauguration of manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India, to support local nickel-based market in standby power, railway, telecom and aviation

Opening of new subsidiary in Moscow for Russia and CIS markets

Sale of small nickel battery activity (SNB) in Nersac, France

2014

Saft's primary lithium battery powers the Philae Lander on historic comet touchdown and data collection

100 million primary lithium batteries manufactured in Zhuhai, China, for metering and electronic toll collection

Launch of Seanergy® marine lithium-ion modules for clean propulsion applications

2015

Launch of Xcelion 6T® : the lithium-ion drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries

2016

Total acquires Saft

President Obama visits Saft America’s advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant

Inauguration of a new, larger advanced-technology facility in Zhuhai to double the Group’s production capacity in China

Opening of a new subsidiary in Japan to strengthen Saft’s presence in Asia

2017

200th satellite equipped with Saft lithium-ion batteries set to launch

China’s COMAC C919 jetliner makes its maiden flight with Saft ULM® batteries on board

Saft wins major contract to supply marine Li-ion batteries to Rolls-Royce for RRS Sir David Attenborough polar vessel

2018

Saft joins forces with European partners to develop the battery of the future.

Saft wins its largest ever railway contract from Alstom India.

Saft joins exclusive group of 100-year-old technology companies.

2019

Saft joins forces with the Chinese Group Tianneng to grow in China.

Saft strengthens its energy storage business with the acquisition of Go Electric.

Saft’s worldwide research and production site in Bordeaux turns 70.

2020

Launch a pilot plant to manufacture European batteries for electric vehicles, during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Saft Nersac plant.