June 17 (Reuters) - Tesla has sued its former

supplier Matthews International ( MATW ) in California federal

court for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to Tesla's

battery-manufacturing process and sharing them with the

electric-vehicle giant's competitors.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in U.S. District Court for the

Northern District of California, said Matthews owes damages that

Tesla "conservatively estimates will exceed $1 billion" for

misusing company trade secrets related to dry electrode battery

manufacturing technology.

Spokespeople for Matthews and attorneys and spokespeople for

Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on

Monday.

Pittsburgh-based Matthews began supplying Tesla with

manufacturing machinery in 2019, according to the complaint.

Tesla said it shared secrets with Matthews related to

dry-electrode coating, which the carmaker has said can

dramatically reduce the size, cost, energy consumption and

production cycle time of battery manufacturing plants while

boosting the energy density and power of battery cells.

The lawsuit said Matthews shared Tesla's innovations with

unnamed competitors by selling "machines and other technologies

embodying Tesla's trade secrets." It also said Matthews claimed

Tesla's inventions as its own in patent filings that have

revealed confidential Tesla information.

Tesla asked the court to block Matthews from misusing its

trade secrets and hand over its patent applications in addition

to requesting monetary damages.