{"id":346735,"date":"2024-10-14T18:27:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T16:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=346735"},"modified":"2024-10-14T18:27:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T16:27:48","slug":"electric-car-battery-makers-value-slashed-by-85pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=346735","title":{"rendered":"Electric car battery maker\u2019s value slashed by\u00a085pc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Investors are preparing to write off nearly the entire value of their stakes in <\/em>Swedish battery giant Northvolt<\/em><\/a> as a crisis at the troubled European green technology champion deepens.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once valued at more than $12bn (\u00a39bn), Northvolt is scrambling to raise hundreds of millions of euros to shore up its finances after a global downturn in demand for electric cars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northvolt had been building one of Europe\u2019s biggest battery plants, close to the Arctic circle, which would have produced home-grown cells for the continent\u2019s carmakers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, one of Northvolt\u2019s biggest shareholders has already marked down its stake in the business by as much as 85pc amid the cash crunch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The London-listed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, one of Northvolt\u2019s biggest shareholders, has scratched hundreds of millions of pounds from the value of its holdings, according to filings published this month.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fund, which is managed by Baillie Gifford, values its shares in the business at just \u00a357m, compared to \u00a3380m in 2022, when investors valued Northvolt at $12bn. The write-down suggests investors expect Northvolt\u2019s value to plunge by more than $10bn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors often revalue their stakes in privately held companies based on their \u201cfair value\u201d \u2013 or what they believe would be paid for them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swedish business is racing to find fresh cash to survive. On Friday, Reuters reported that Northvolt was in the process of raising around $200m in short-term funding from customers and lenders.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northvolt, founded by former Tesla executive Peter Carlsson, has raised billions of euros in debt and equity to build more environmentally friendly EV batteries, which it says have 90pc lower carbon emissions than those of rivals.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its backers include investment giants such as Blackrock, and it has attracted state support from the European Investment Bank and the German and Swedish governments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has built one of Europe\u2019s biggest battery factories in the far north of Sweden, which is powered by a hydroelectric plant, while its cells make use of recycled materials.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it has struggled with production delays, and over the summer BMW cancelled a multibillion-euro deal to buy its batteries.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Northvolt has announced it will lay off 1,600 staff and <\/em>scale back its expansion plans<\/em><\/a>, cancelling a project to dramatically increase its factory\u2019s capacity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, the company was forced to insist it had enough cash to pay an upcoming tax bill, due on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Frith, the European lead at Volta Energy Technologies, a green investment firm, said: \u201cGiven that Northvolt has lost some of its early orders [and] is facing significant delays to its revenue \u2026 the size of the business and its valuation have decreased, which will be reflected in its investor mark-downs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northvolt\u2019s woes come as European carmakers endure <\/em>a sharp downturn in demand for their electric cars<\/em><\/a>. EV sales on the Continent fell by 44pc in August to a three-year low.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand has suffered as persistently high prices steer consumers toward petrol-powered vehicles.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, an influx of cheap Chinese car brands powered by their own home-grown batteries has threatened the market share of Europe\u2019s traditional carmakers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September, Volkswagen, a Northvolt customer and a major investor in the Swedish company, warned it expected to sell 500,000 fewer vehicles in Europe per year.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, the German car giant reported a 10pc fall in all-electric car deliveries globally.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reuters reported last week that Scania, the Swedish truck maker that is part of Volkswagen, was among the companies in talks with Northvolt over a funding lifeline.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2024\/10\/12\/crisis-deepens-european-battery-champion-northvolt<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Investors are preparing to write off nearly the entire value of their stakes in\u00a0Swedish battery giant Northvolt\u00a0as a crisis at the troubled European green technology champion deepens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":346739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829888,691821977,691830926,691830925],"class_list":{"0":"post-346735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-automotive-industry","9":"tag-electric-vehicles-evs","10":"tag-european-green-technology","11":"tag-swedish-battery-giant-northvolt","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0Northvolt-Ett-gigafactory-in-northern-Sweden.-m.jpg?fit=1923%2C1090&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1scv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":353826,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=353826","url_meta":{"origin":346735,"position":0},"title":"Hundreds Of Millions in Subsidies for German Gigafactory in Jeopardy as Northvolt Files Chapter 11","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/12\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"All that glisters green is not gold\u2026 The electric car market is reeling in Europe\u2026Germany\u2019s electric car ambitions have taken another body blow as Swedish Northvolt declares bankruptcy in USA.","rel":"","context":"In \"bankruptcy\"","block_context":{"text":"bankruptcy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bankruptcy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Hero-northvolt-labs.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Hero-northvolt-labs.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Hero-northvolt-labs.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Hero-northvolt-labs.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0Hero-northvolt-labs.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":352232,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=352232","url_meta":{"origin":346735,"position":1},"title":"Northvolt Goes Bankrupt","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Swedish electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy after the company\u2019s dreadful liquidity position left the business with only one week\u2019s worth of cash to fund its operations.","rel":"","context":"In \"bankruptcy\"","block_context":{"text":"bankruptcy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bankruptcy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0image-77.webp?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0image-77.webp?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0image-77.webp?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0image-77.webp?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/0image-77.webp?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334252,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334252","url_meta":{"origin":346735,"position":2},"title":"The abrupt end of a miracle battery","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"battery technology\"","block_context":{"text":"battery technology","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=battery-technology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0shutterstock_349241027-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0shutterstock_349241027-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0shutterstock_349241027-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0shutterstock_349241027-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0shutterstock_349241027-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370607,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=370607","url_meta":{"origin":346735,"position":3},"title":"Northvolt File for\u00a0Bankruptcy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In \"bankruptcy\"","block_context":{"text":"bankruptcy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bankruptcy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Northvolt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Northvolt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Northvolt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Northvolt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0Northvolt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":379942,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=379942","url_meta":{"origin":346735,"position":4},"title":"The Northvolt drama","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This drama about the battery factory is entering the next round. 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