Dyson, the global tech firm best known for its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, on Friday pledged to invest GBP 2.75 billion (USD 3.67 billion) in Singapore, the Philippines, and its home country UK through 2025. Although Dyson did not reveal an exact breakdown of the investment, it plans to build a manufacturing hub and expand its research facilities and labs in Singapore, together with a university research program.
The firm will also build a software hub in Alabang, Philippines, on top of an existing facility in Calamba, where it claims to manufacture 13 million of its digital motor products every year.
The news comes almost one year after Dyson announced its plan to move its global headquarter from the UK to Singapore in 2021, although a much-anticipated plan to build electric cars in Singapore evaporated.
“We continue the expansion of our operations in Singapore, UK, and South East Asia, as a vital step of our future development,” said CEO Roland Krueger. “Now is the time to invest in new technologies such as energy storage, robotics and software which will drive performance and sustainability in our products for the benefit of Dyson’s customers.”
The new investment will help the company to double the number of products it sells and hire more engineers and scientists, to boost research in the fields of robotics, next generation motor technology, intelligent products, machine learning, connectivity, and material science, according to the announcement.
Another focus will be to commercialize its proprietary solid-state battery technology, a potential replacement for lithium-ion batteries that uses solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte to increase the battery capacity of electrical vehicles. “It promises safer, cleaner, longer-lasting, and more efficient energy storage than today’s existing batteries,” said Krueger.