Northvolt sells American factory

Northvolt is selling a factory in the United States to Lyten, a California-based battery company, according to the Bloomberg news agency. No price tag has been announced by Northvolt, whose hunt for new billions to address short- and long-term challenges continues.

Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt. Archive image.

Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt. Archive image.

Foto: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/SVD/TT

Ekonomi2024-11-13 14:10

Northvolt acquired the current factory in 2021 as part of its purchase of American Cuberg.

Following the closure of a Cuberg-related research and development center in the US last fall and the subsequent layoff of 200 employees, Lyten is now set to invest approximately $50 million (around 550 million kronor) in the factory over the next few years, according to Bloomberg.

Northvolt is currently seeking billions of kronor in both short- and long-term funding. Negotiations with owners, lenders, and customers are ongoing, with the primary focus now on safeguarding the core business in Skellefteå and increasing production capacity at the Northvolt Ett battery factory.

–They are moving forward. We see progress, but these processes tend to take longer than expected, says Northvolt's press manager Erik Zsiga regarding the financing talks.

To help deal with the financial challenges, Northvolt has been scaling back several large development projects, implementing significant staff reductions, and filing for bankruptcy for its subsidiary Northvolt Expansion, which carried billions of kronor in debt.

The company is also navigating negotiations with Volvo Cars regarding the future of the Novo Energy factory building in Gothenburg, after Volvo Cars accused Northvolt of breach of contract.

Earlier this week, Sven Fuhrmann, Volkswagen's representative on Northvolt's board, resigned. Given Volkswagen's own financial difficulties, the company has thus far declined to discuss potential capital injections to support Northvolt.