As soon as hyped as a possible cornerstone for an expanded European battery business, Swedish battery maker Northvolt on Wednesday introduced that it was submitting for chapter in its house nation.
“Like many firms within the battery sector, Northvolt has skilled a sequence of compounding challenges in current months that eroded its monetary place, together with rising capital prices, geopolitical instability, subsequent provide chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand,” the corporate mentioned in a press launch. “Additional to this backdrop, the corporate has confronted important inner challenges in its ramp-up of manufacturing.”
Rendering of Northvolt Six battery manufacturing unit in Quebec, Canada
In current months, Northvolt has made a number of makes an attempt to shore up its monetary place, together with submitting for Chapter 11 chapter within the U.S. and chopping prices all through its enterprise. Nonetheless, the corporate mentioned it was not in a position to safe the extra funding it wanted to proceed working.
In accordance with Swedish legislation, a court-appointed trustee will now oversee the sale of Northvolt’s enterprise and belongings to be able to settle the corporate’s excellent monetary obligations.
Volvo and Northvolt companion on battery improvement and manufacturing
Northvolt opened its first battery manufacturing unit in Sweden in 2021, and that 12 months claimed to be making cells with 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt. Battery-supply offers with BMW and Volvo quickly adopted, in addition to plans for added factories, stoking hopes that Northvolt might develop into an area competitor to established battery corporations serving European automakers.
However that first plant by no means reached full manufacturing capability, Reuters reported final 12 months, across the time that BMW nixed its battery-supply deal with Northvolt, estimated to be price about $2 billion. Layoffs adopted, together with the resignation of CEO Peter Carlsson.