"The funds cover the currently planned production expansion in Skellefteå, as well as an expansion for the development of Revolt One," says Northvolt's Fredrik Hedlund after Tuesday's announcement that Northvolt has secured a massive loan.
Hedlund's title indicates that he is responsible for all factories and factory expansions within the group.
On Tuesday, Northvolt announced that the company had secured five billion dollars in green loans, a European record, with 3.4 billion in entirely new funds and the rest in so-called refinancing.
– This is especially important for Skellefteå, as most of what we are announcing now supports the entire expansion we have planned here, says Hedlund.
So, the funds you have now raised are sufficient to cover the five production blocks and the recycling plant Revolt Ett in Skellefteå?
– Yes! It covers the current planned production expansion up here, plus additional funds to develop Revolt Ett as well.
It's clear that the new funds are for Skellefteå. Was it important to send out this signal?
– It is important. If you look at Northvolt's agenda, even though we have very ambitious growth plans with factories in Germany, Canada and together with Volvo in Gothenburg, Skellefteå remains the most important thing we do, says Hedlund.
The current focus is on the first two production blocks in Skellefteå, each with four production lines.
– We have started to build foundations and other things in preparation for Upstream 2, but right now all our focus is on phase one.
Phase one with the two blocks in full operation means a battery cell production of 16 GWh per year.
– We will bring on the remaining lines in block 1 and block 2 and start our cathode production this year. 2024 is a very defined year for the production rate. We have several lines that are operational and now need to be scaled up, and we intend that this will be Northvolt's first gigayear in Skellefteå, explains Hedlund.
The first gigayear therefore means an annual production exceeding one GWh in 2024.
Northvolt now explicitly states that the production target at Northvolt One in 2024 is one gigawatt-hour (GWh). Northvolt currently has an order backlog of 55 billion dollars, with the majority set to be delivered from Skellefteå.
– It is very defined and also a very important production boost this year. 2023 was a challenging year in many ways. Many lines had to start from scratch, and we had the misfortune of unfortunate incidents on-site and so on. It was an eventful and in some ways a tough year, especially a difficult end of the year that took a toll on production. 2024 is the year when things will really take off, says Hedlund.