Nikola to Buy Battery Maker Romeo Power for $144 Million

Lithium prices are rising as demand for the key ingredient in electric car batteries grows, amid a broader push to move away from oil and gas. But extraction of the metal is time consuming and potentially harmful to the environment, and plans to produce more have prompted protests. Photo: STR/Getty Images, Oliver Bunic/AFP/Getty Images

Electric-truck startup Nikola said it has agreed to buy battery-technology company Romeo Power in an all-stock deal that values Romeo at roughly $144 million.

Nikola said the deal will give it control over the battery pack engineering and production processes, a critical bottleneck for electric-car makers. Romeo, which supplies batteries for Nikola’s vehicles, had earlier warned of its ability to stay afloat.