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Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Northvolt files for bankruptcy as Europe’s big EV battery hope fails

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreBattery maker Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, following failed talks with investors over a potential rescue package.Northvolt was Europe’s best-funded startup company after being founded in 2016, as the continent sought to reduce reliance on Chinese batteries for electric vehicles.Early backers included Volkswagen and BlackRock from the corporate world, while government backing also came to take the total amount invested to between $10bn and $15bn (£11.6bn) – but since the end of 2024 they have been seeking an additional $1bn (£770m) from investors just to keep the sole factory running in Skelleftea.Filing for bankruptcy marks a desperate end to the ambitions of the company – which has 5,000 employees – which had aimed to produce hundreds of thousands of EV batteries using green energy.“This is an incredibly difficult day for everyone at Northvolt. We set out to build something groundbreaking — to drive real change in the battery, EV and wider European industry and accelerate the transition to a green and sustainable future,” said Tom Johnstone, Northvolt’s interim chair.Former chief executive Peter Carlsson departed in November 2024 after the company applied for bankruptcy protection in the United States.At the time, a planned restructuring was expected to see more than 1,000 jobs cut by March of this year, while Mr Carlsson also noted in excess of £1bn may be needed to get the business back on track.Northvolt on Wednesday cited “significant internal challenges” along with external conditions such as “rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, supply chain disruptions and shifts in market demand” as reasons for their demise.The Financial Times report that Swedish truckmaker Scania, Northvolt’s primary customer, injected fresh capital into the business recently but has now secured supplies from separate battery makers.US-based electric truck maker Nikola filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last month as the wider EV industry continues to face significant challenges in cost and scaling up.In 2023, UK-based company Britishvolt suffered a similar fate as a planned £4bn gigafactory in the north of England, but failed to secure funding necessary after delays and the site was eventually bought by an Australian company, which in turn was wound up and a subsidiary of financial giant Blackstone entered talks to buy it.

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