GAZ Geräte- und Akkumulatorenwerk Zwickau
GAZ Geräte- und Akkumulatorenwerk Zwickau (GAZ) is a German manufacturer of nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries for railway signalling and trackside power, headquartered in Zwickau, Saxony.
The portfolio consists of three Ni-Cd cell ranges. Vented (KL, KM, KH) covers stationary applications from low to high discharge rates; lomain (KGL, KGM) is built around ultra-low maintenance requirements; and SOL is optimised for use alongside renewables.
Sinter plate batteries for aviation complete the Ni-Cd offering, and the group’s lithium-ion storage systems are sold under the same GAZ ENERGY brand.
GAZ states that it exports to more than 120 markets, with Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas among its focus regions. Customer sectors include energy, transport, oil and gas, and telecommunications.
Rail applications
GAZ cells provide backup power for railway signalling, point machines, level crossings, and relay and protection equipment — a role within battery systems for rail distinct from the traction and propulsion batteries that move trains.
The Vented range lists track-side signalling among its typical applications, with a design lifespan exceeding 20 years. The cells operate generally between −20°C and +50°C, tolerate brief extremes up to +70°C, and can run down to −50°C with a special electrolyte.
On a single-track line running inland from the port city of Veracruz, Mexico, solar panels paired with GAZ ENERGY SOL G batteries power electronic track circuits, wayside signals and switch machines at roughly 200 locations along the route, according to the company’s own project description.
History and ownership
GAZ traces its origins to Friemann & Wolf, a Zwickau maker of miner’s safety lamps founded in 1884, which built the first head lamps powered by Ni-Cd accumulators in 1907. The current company was formed after German reunification, when the Treuhandanstalt broke up the state-owned works and the Ni-Cd battery unit continued as Geräte- und Akkumulatorenwerk Zwickau GmbH.
GAZ was part of the US battery group EnerSys from 2005 to 2019, when it was acquired by the Czech chemical group Bochemie. Following that acquisition it established a US subsidiary and began constructing a manufacturing site in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
On January 1, 2025, Bochemie a.s. was divided: the original entity was renamed GAZ Energy a.s. and retained the battery business, while a newly registered BOCHEMIE a.s. took over chemical specialities as the successor company. GAZ now sits under GAZ Energy a.s., registered in Bohumín.
Ownership remains private. Later in January 2025 the Czech competition authority cleared Second Foundation Holding, a Prague-based energy trading group, to buy a stake in GAZ Energy and Bochemie, giving the two parties joint control.
