Tag: Northvolt

The Northvolt drama

This drama about the battery factory is entering the next round.
The NDR reports on the closure of the main plant in Sweden.

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From KlimaNachrichten

This drama about the battery factory is entering the next round.
The NDR reports on the closure of the main plant in Sweden.

There is bad news again from battery manufacturer Northvolt: According to the insolvency administrator, battery cell production in Skellefteå, Northvolt’s main plant in northern Sweden, will be shut down. It is to be completely discontinued by June 30 – if no buyer is found by then. This means that the company is completely discontinuing production in its home country. However, the search for a new investor is ongoing, it is said. In addition, there are potential buyers for the various business units within the Northvolt Group. “The talks and negotiations are ongoing and are at different stages,” said insolvency administrator Mikael Kubu in the statement

Surprisingly, the black-green state government in Schleswig-Holstein is still optimistic about the planned plant in Heide.
Perhaps it has to be, given the sums for which the state and the federal government have guaranteed and already paid.

According to a spokesman for the German Northvolt subsidiary, the events in Sweden have no impact on the planned site in Heide (Dithmarschen district). Northvolt Germany is formally independent of Northvolt AB in Sweden and is therefore not affected by the insolvency proceedings for the time being. The search for investors is continuing, according to the spokesman. There is great interest in the location near Heide. Insolvency administrator Mikael Kubu in Sweden had not yet commented specifically on the German subsidiary.

Despite the insolvency of the Swedish parent company, construction continues at Heide. At the moment, it is more about the infrastructure on the construction site.

Many members of the state parliament from Schleswig-Holstein continue to see the opportunity for the location in Dithmarschen, despite the bad news from Sweden. “There will be an investor for this, I am very confident,” said Lasse Petersdotter (Greens) NDR Schleswig-Holstein. Lukas Kilian (CDU) spoke of Northvolt’s “silver cutlery”. “If you can sell something, then you have to look at this location and develop it further,” he said. “We have the green electricity, we have the good connections, we have the experts there.”

Kianusch Stender (SPD) expressed a similar opinion: “Over 100 hectares of leveled building land with a building permit that is already running. We have virtually everything we need. This is a prime piece for every investor.” Bernd Buchholz (FDP) was somewhat less euphoric: “In truth, the only chance for Heide is a strategic investor who is able to operate battery cell production itself.”

Minister of Economic Affairs Claus Ruhe Madsen also wants to stand up for Heide: “There are reports that say that we need up to 30 production facilities in Europe. And of course, we want to make sure that one of them is in Schleswig-Holstein,” he said.

How is all this supposed to work? Where has the money gone? How well was the test carried out in advance?
Northvolt has practically no production and no more customers.

Northvolt File for Bankruptcy

Go woke, go broke!
Following an exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company, the Board of Directors of Northvolt AB today announced that it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Go woke, go broke!

From Northvolt:

Stockholm, Sweden, 12 March 2025 – Following an exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company, the Board of Directors of Northvolt AB today announced that it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.

Like many companies in the battery sector, Northvolt has experienced a series of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial position, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand. Further to this backdrop, the company has faced significant internal challenges in its ramp-up of production, both in ways that were expected by engagement in what is a highly complex industry, and others which were unforeseen.

Despite pursuing all available options to negotiate and implement a financial restructuring, including a Chapter 11 restructuring process in the United States, and despite liquidity support from our lenders and key counterparties, the company was unable to secure the necessary financial conditions to continue in its current form. The Board therefore determined that this is the only available solution while the company pursues all realistic options to obtain financing to continue operating during the Swedish bankruptcy process.

It should be underscored that in engaging in this process, the company found significant traction with potential partners and interest from investors — something which illustrates the strong underlying value and future potential of Northvolt and is testament to its accomplishments. Ultimately, however, with limited time and financial resources available, the company was unable to conclude the necessary agreements to secure its future.

Following the filing, a Swedish court-appointed trustee will now oversee the process, including the sale of the business and its assets and settlement of outstanding obligations. The process will be conducted in accordance with Swedish insolvency law, with a focus on ensuring an orderly transition for employees, partners, and creditors. Northvolt has nominated Mikael Kubu as Trustee.

The entities Northvolt AB, Northvolt Ett AB, Northvolt Labs AB, Northvolt Revolt AB and Northvolt Systems AB filed with the Swedish court. Northvolt Germany and Northvolt North America are not filing for bankruptcy in their respective jurisdictions. As wholly owned subsidiaries of Northvolt AB, any decisions regarding these entities will be made by the court-appointed trustee of Northvolt AB in consultation with the Group’s lenders at the appropriate time.

Northvolt recognizes the significant impact of this outcome on its employees, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. The company is working closely with relevant authorities, trade unions, and partners to ensure that employees receive the support and information they need during this transition.

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/northvolt/pressreleases/northvolt-files-for-bankruptcy-in-sweden-3374738

Obviously two major factors lie behind this bankruptcy:

  1. The lack of demand for EVs in Europe
  2. The impossibility of competing profitably with batteries made in China

There is no prospect of either of these two challenges being resolved soon.

Hundreds Of Millions in Subsidies for German Gigafactory in Jeopardy as Northvolt Files Chapter 11

All that glisters green is not gold…

The electric car market is reeling in Europe…Germany’s electric car ambitions have taken another body blow as Swedish Northvolt declares bankruptcy in USA.

From NoTrickZone

By P Gosselin

All that glisters green is not gold…

The electric car market is reeling in Europe…Germany’s electric car ambitions have taken another body blow as Swedish Northvolt declares bankruptcy in USA.

The massively taxpayer-subsidized gigafactory now under construction in Heide is in jeopardy and becoming a huge embarrassment for Germany’s Socialist-Green government. 

Press image Northvolt

Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturer, is facing immense financial difficulties and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. This filing has raised concerns about the future of Northvolt’s battery plant now under construction near Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Construction of the Northvolt Drei battery factory near Heide began in March 2024 and it was planned to begin production in 2026.

In 2023, the German government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein began to provide significant financial support for the project for the Northvolt plant in Heide, which included a direct grant of 700 million euros and a guarantee of 202 million euros. German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, (Green Party), called the battery plant “one of the most significant lighthouse projects of the energy and transport transition, which will create thousands of green tech jobs.”

Habeck, who majored in philosophy and has no education in economics, went on to call the Heide gigafactory project “one of the most important industrial investments in Europe in key green technologies.”

Habeck’s lofty dreams have since turned into a nightmare

But since Northvolt has filed bankruptcy in USA, the cash is gone and it’s increasingly likely German taxpayers will be left to pick up the tab as dreams of a flagship gigafactory in Heide disintegrate.

The billion-euro investment in the plant pushed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck was to be supported by public funds, loans and direct subsidies.  According to Blackout News, “The consequences are now hitting German taxpayers with full force.”

Northvolt Goes Bankrupt

Swedish electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy after the company’s dreadful liquidity position left the business with only one week’s worth of cash to fund its operations.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Paul Kolk

Another one bites the dust!

Swedish electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy after the company’s dreadful liquidity position left the business with only one week’s worth of cash to fund its operations.

The Chapter 11 petition was filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Thursday. The company listed assets and liabilities in a range of $1 billion to $10 billion, with creditors estimated to be between 1,000 and 5,000. Established in 2016 in Stockholm, Northvolt is an energy-storage company that manufactures lithium-ion batteries.

A leading manufacturer in the European Union, Northvolt competes with China’s BYD and CAT to supply batteries to carmakers in the region. As such, the bankruptcy of Northvolt presents a challenge to Europe’s ambitions to counter Chinese EV dominance.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/european-ev-battery-maker-files-for-bankruptcy-5764399?utm_campaign=socialshare_email&utm_source=email

The abrupt end of a miracle battery

Perhaps the story about a supposed revolution in battery technology is also somewhat symptomatic of how the media work and fail. First things first. The Japanese company TDK reports progress in battery technology. New batteries from the company are said to have an enormous energy density. This is to increase by an incredible factor of 100. That would indeed be a sensation, a mobile phone would only have to be charged 3 times a year. E-cars could cover very long distances.

By  KlimaNachrichten

Perhaps the story about a supposed revolution in battery technology is also somewhat symptomatic of how the media work and fail. First things first. The Japanese company TDK reports progress in battery technology. New batteries from the company are said to have an enormous energy density. This is to increase by an incredible factor of 100. That would indeed be a sensation, a mobile phone would only have to be charged 3 times a year. E-cars could cover very long distances. The FAZ (paid article) immediately sat down on this report.

“The Japanese Apple supplier TDK promises significantly longer battery life for small devices such as headphones, smartwatches and hearing aids through a battery technology it has newly developed. The solid-state batteries, for which the company is now reporting a technological breakthrough, enable an energy density 100 times higher than the currently common solid-state batteries from TDK. “We believe that our newly developed material for solid-state batteries can make a significant contribution to the energy transition,” said TDK CEO Noboru Saito.

Apparently, the figures were not checked for plausibility. Golem thought this progress was Spanish and they searched for the original message. The miracle was not a miracle, but even less than batteries from other manufacturers can perform.

“According to the press release, Cera Charge achieves an energy density of 1,000 Wh/l, which is comparable to other batteries that have been introduced with this technology in recent years. Meanwhile, the peak values of Chinese battery technology are around 1,600 Wh/l, not only in the research laboratory, but also at industrial battery manufacturers.The alleged hundredfold increase in energy density cannot have taken place, at least not compared to conventional battery technology. Nevertheless, media such as the FAZ, the Handelsblatt or the Association of German Engineers as well as many others report uncritically of an implausible breakthrough of a mega material in battery technology.”

This fits thematically that the company Northvolt has lost a billion-dollar order from BMW. Northvolt is planning a battery factory in Dithmarschen. Electdrive.net:

“The situation at Northvolt is probably less relaxed. The fact that a shareholder withdraws a billion-euro order is likely to be seen as a kind of vote of no confidence – even if there are solid reasons in BMW’s model planning. The problem: Northvolt is almost two years behind the original schedule for production in Skellefteå. There, Northvolt is said to be able to reduce production waste only more slowly than hoped. This not only reduces the production volume of high-quality goods, but is also expensive. All customers of Northvolt cells are said to have sent experts to solve the production problems. This is said to be Scania, for example, the Traton subsidiary had developed battery cells together with Northvolt specifically for use in electric trucks. The VW Group, which owns 20 percent of the Swedish cell manufacturer, wants to use the Northvolt cells at Audi and Porsche. According to Manager Magazin, Audi would have alternative suppliers, while Porsche is relying on Northvolt for the all-electric successor to the 718 – and will probably need the batteries next year.”