According to Northvolt, the building on the far left will be used for the production of active materials.
Northvolt has faced ongoing difficulties in delivering batteries. Dagens Industri reported that only a small portion of the anticipated battery production was realized during the first nine months of 2023. Customers such as Scania have expressed dissatisfaction with the delays, and BMW terminated a contract worth 22 billion kronor this summer due to delivery issues.
The reasons cited for these delivery problems include inexperienced staff and the inherent challenges of manufacturing. Due to quality issues, a significant number of battery cells were discarded. Northvolt asserts that the situation has improved since the spring. In April, factory manager Mark Duchesne stated that they were producing tens of thousands of batteries and that production volumes were steadily increasing.
Norran can now reveal that one reason for the improved situation is that the company has outsourced the production of a critical battery component to China instead of manufacturing it in-house.
The factory's section responsible for mixing raw materials for the battery's cathode has, according to Norran's sources, failed to produce material of sufficient quality. Virtually all the produced material has been sent to Northvolt's recycling plant, Revolt. Without a cathode, battery production is impossible.
Factory manager Mark Duchesne partially confirmed this in June during an interview with Dagens Industri, stating that Northvolt was Revolt's largest customer.
"We've had a significant amount of material lost in the process. Too much, far too much. We recycle our own material," he told the newspaper.
Norran interviewed factory manager Mark Duchesne last spring about the production problems.
Insider sources have confirmed that Northvolt has faced major challenges in producing battery materials, with nearly all materials ending up being recycled. However, they recently achieved a breakthrough by successfully producing a batch of their own material that met the necessary quality standards. The extent of this success remains uncertain.
The cathode mixture, composed of lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC), is crucial for storing energy in the batteries. Northvolt had planned to produce this material at their Skellefteå factory, but they have encountered significant difficulties in doing so.
Norran has obtained documents from Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB) showing that Northvolt has purchased thousands of tonnes of NMC from China.
The deliveries are detailed here. Due to the hazardous nature of the materials involved, an exemption is required.
The material was shipped from a Chinese supplier to the port of Gävle and then transported by rail to Skellefteå. The MSB granted permits for transporting this material four times in total during 2023 and 2024, covering at least 3,100 tonnes of NMC. However, more material has arrived, with 3,780 tonnes in Borlänge and 480 tonnes en route at one point.
Norran tried to interview Northvolt Ett's factory manager Mark Duchesne. Despite our insistence on the importance of counter-questions and follow-ups, Northvolt only agreed to respond via email through press officer Matti Kataja, making it difficult to get thorough answers.
We requested information on Northvolt's total and current year's battery production, the amount of discarded material and batteries, the reasons for chemical mixing problems, the extent of these issues, and whether there are other production problems.
Matti Kataja responded without providing specific details about production:
'As announced this summer, we have reached a stage in our production ramp-up where we are delivering tens of thousands of cells to our customers weekly. This is just a portion of the factory's planned annual capacity, and it's important to note that several factory buildings are still under construction."
Only Northvolt's communications director, Matti Kataja, is responding to Norran's questions.
Norran asked Northvolt to comment on their purchase of NMC and to explain what proportion of the batteries are produced in-house.
Matti Kataja responded, "Northvolt's strategy is to gradually produce most of their NMC material in Europe. In addition to our own production, we work closely with external suppliers. The ramp-up of cell production has progressed faster than the production of cathode material, so to avoid halting production and development, we need to use external material in larger quantities during this transition period."
He also mentioned that they view the partial use of external material as an opportunity to diversify their product range and scale up at the required pace for the green transition.
Northvolt has a stated green business model. Norran wanted to understand the company's perspective on sourcing material from China, which is not known for its fossil-free energy, good mining labor conditions, or environmental considerations.
Do you have information about how the material was produced?
According to Matti Kataja, they "place high demands on suppliers regarding sustainability, and this is verified through third-party audits of all suppliers."
"We place great importance on using fossil-free energy, recycled materials, and sourcing raw materials from mines that meet Northvolt's standards," he responds.
He says they regularly monitor these requirements. "Our goal is always to deliver the greenest batteries, whether the NMC material is produced internally or by one of our external partners," he writes.
What happens if NMC production doesn't get underway?
"The production of material in Skellefteå is in the 'ramping up' phase. Technical validation is underway to integrate the material into our cells. It's normal for technical validation of materials to take time, as it needs to be tested over an extended period," he replies.