Bulgarian lead-acid battery manufacturer Monbat has bought two lithium battery firms — Gaia Akkumulatorenwerke and EAS Germany — in Germany, the firm confirmed on June 26 to SeeNews, a regional news-gathering business for south-east Europe.

Gaia is based in Nordhausen, and makes a range of various lithium battery types. Its applications range from hybrid and electric vehicles to control systems for wind turbines.

The other German firm is EAS Germany, which makes lithium-ion cells for space, submarine, marine and automotive applications.

The two have merged into Nordhausen-based company EAS Batteries.

Monbat, which is based in Sofia, did not reveal how much it paid for the firms, but did say it would merge them into one operation in Nordhausen called EAS Batteries.

Monbat said it had plans to invest more than $5.6 million over the next two years for new and modern machinery, as well as a larger workforce.