The problems have long since arrived at the factory in the Swedish town of Skellefteå. Here, around 200 kilometers below the Arctic Circle, the start-up Northvolt wanted to be the first European manufacturer to build a large-scale factory for battery cells. Thousands of employees from all over the world were recruited, but are now worried about their jobs because Northvolt cannot properly get the technology under control. 400 employees have already left the site, which recently had around 3,500 employees. Hundreds more are to follow, part of a rescue plan with which company founder Peter Carlsson wants to reduce costs and reduce Northvolt to a sustainable core. Around 1,600 of the current 7,000 employees are expected to move across all global locations. The company, headquartered in Stockholm, is considered a beacon of hope in the market for new, green technologies. It wants to make the EU more independent of dominant suppliers from China such as CATL or BYD in the key technology of battery cells for electric cars. Carlsson has raised around 13 billion euros from investors since it was founded eight years ago. He is now trying hard to raise more funds and end an acute liquidity crisis. Those involved report that the talks are now in the “final phase”. According to the “Bloomberg” news agency, the US investment bank Goldman Sachs, which holds around 20 percent of the start-up, is considering further involvement. The Volkswagen Group, Northvolt’s largest shareholder and also a major buyer, is also involved in the discussions. It is possible that VW truck subsidiary Scania will support Northvolt with further orders, as we hear from the industry. Scania officially said on Thursday that it was “in close dialogue with Northvolt” and did not want to comment on speculation. The private Swedish pension fund AMF and the state AP fund could also contribute capital. Northvolt co-founder Harald Mix could also invest, it was said on Thursday. However, in his case it is more about the symbolic sum of 100 million crowns, the equivalent of around nine million euros. The Dutch investment group EIT Inno-Energy, which has a small stake in Northvolt, made an official statement on Thursday: They will continue to “support” the company, said CEO Diego Pavía at a conference in Barcelona. Other projects are also collapsing. The problems come at a delicate time , because Northvolt is not the only one struggling with difficulties. E-mobility is not developing as hoped in Europe. Several cell factory projects were stopped, such as the construction of a Mercedes and Stellantis site in Kaiserslautern. At the same time, the Chinese are continuing to expand their dominance and could supply the entire world with cells eight times next year, as the Bloomberg agency has calculated. Car manufacturers are also struggling with problems, especially the VW Group, which wants to reduce costs and with factory closures threatens in Germany. Politicians are alarmed and want to help. The traffic light coalition in Berlin has already decided on new tax incentives for electric cars, and the SPD has just confirmed that it wants to introduce further funding for private car buyers. In the case of Northvolt, donors and customers could do so within the next few days, perhaps within the next few days This week, the talks on a package that will give the company some breathing room will be concluded, those involved estimate. This is not certain, also because a large number of partners are involved, including a group of major banks and the European Investment Bank EIB. Northvolt’s goals for the current round of financing have long since shrunk, clearly a sign that the partners only want to provide further funds cautiously and in small steps. Company boss Carlsson wanted to raise a good billion euros a few months ago, but now it is expected to be around 200 million euros. It is certain in the industry that this can only be an intermediate stage in finally getting the factory in Skellefteå up and running. Previously, it had become increasingly clear that the ramp-up in the first large factory would take longer and be more expensive than expected. Northvolt actually wanted to produce battery cells there last year with an output of 16 gigawatt hours (GWh), enough for more than 250,000 electric cars. But the engineers underestimated the complexity of the machinery and cell chemistry. This year the plant will probably create less than one GWh. Management has canceled the next step, the expansion by a further 30 GWh. The subsidiary responsible for the expansion, Northvolt Ett Expansion AB, filed for bankruptcy shortly afterwards. This caused a stir in Sweden, although Northvolt emphasized that the company was only one of around 20 subsidiaries and that its bankruptcy had no impact on the group as a whole. More on the topic Other locations are monitoring the development closely, such as Heide in Schleswig-Holstein. The excavators are already rolling over a 110-hectare area where the next cell factory is to be built. Germany boss Christofer Haux has been emphasizing for weeks that they stand by the local plans. “We need the factory in Heide, it is a cornerstone of our expansion.” At the same time, he makes it clear that the company is reviewing its schedules and the result is still pending. In Canada, where the Swedes are also planning a factory, it has long been clear: the start of production planned for the third quarter of 2026 will be delayed by at least a year. Canada is supporting construction with billions in subsidies. In Germany, the federal and state governments are providing around 900 million euros. Sweden, on the other hand, has so far held back on direct aid and wants to stick to this line.
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