Northvolt
Der Batteriehersteller hat bereits mehr als acht Milliarden Euro Fremd- und Eigenkapital aufgenommen.
(Foto: Reuters)
Das Batterie-Start-up Northvolt aus Schweden hat eine weitere Finanzspritze erhalten. Wie aus einer Mitteilung vom Dienstag hervorgeht, hat das Unternehmen Wandelanleihen im Wert von 1,1 Milliarden Euro (1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar) von Investoren aufgenommen. Zu den Geldgebern gehört der weltgrößte Vermögensverwalter Blackrock sowie die kanadischen Pensions- und Investmentgesellschaften IMCO, CPP Investments und Omers. Für letztere ist es bereits die dritte Northvolt-Finanzierungsrunde.
Das Geld werde helfen, „die enorme Nachfrage nach nachhaltigen Batterielösungen sowohl in Europa als auch in Nordamerika zu decken“, sagte CEO Peter Carlsson in der Mitteilung. Northvolt hat nach eigenen Angaben Aufträge im Wert von über 55 Milliarden Dollar (50,4 Milliarden Euro) vorliegen. Zu den Kunden des Batterieherstellers zählen unter anderem Volkswagen, BMW, Scania und Volvo.
Mit der jüngsten Finanzierungsrunde hat Northvolt seit 2017 insgesamt mehr als neun Milliarden US-Dollar (8,25 Milliarden Euro) an Fremd- und Eigenkapital aufgenommen – ein Rekordwert für Start-ups in Europa. Zu den größten Anteilseignern zählen der Volkswagen-Konzern und Goldman Sachs.
>> Also read: Europe and the USA in the battery race for subsidies worth billions
The battery start-up has long been considered a candidate for the stock market. An IPO is pending in the coming months, reports the “Financial Times”, citing insider circles. The company will raise billions more in equity financing for this in the coming weeks. The company did not want to comment on the stock exchange plans. “We have a business plan,” Northvolt CFO Alexander Hartmann told Reuters. “We always want to make sure we have access to the markets.”
Northvolt factory in Heide: Important milestone expected for autumn
In the coming months and years, Northvolt faces the challenge of simultaneously ramping up production in four battery factories. Behind each of them are billions in investments and thus major financial risks. The company currently operates a battery plant in Skellefteå, Sweden, near the Arctic Circle, and a second plant in Poland for the energy storage business is just starting up.
Northvolt boss Carlsson (left) with Federal Minister of Economics Habeck in Sweden
Notification procedure for Germany’s next battery factory has started.
(Photo: dpa)
In May, Northvolt also announced that it would build its factory in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, which had been under discussion for some time. However, the subsidies offered for this must still be approved by the EU Commission. After that it looks up to date. As a person familiar with the process reported to the Handelsblatt, the notification procedure has already started and should be completed by autumn. In addition to the final building permit, this formal step is the most important prerequisite for building the plant in Heide.
At the same time, Northvolt is still looking for a production site in North America. According to insiders, the company is likely to announce plans to build a cell factory in Canada later this year. There, the company should benefit from billions in subsidies. Most recently, VW had received funding commitments of almost nine billion euros from the Canadian government for the construction of a gigafactory in Ontario.
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