Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt, Europe’s best-funded climate tech startup, is undergoing a strategic review of a planned factory in Borlänge, Sweden.
The company, which recently secured $5bn in debt and has raised a total of $13bn to date, has one gigafactory up and running in the north of Sweden. It is also constructing one in Germany and one in Gothenburg, Sweden; with another planned in Canada too.
Yesterday, Swedish media reported that plans to open a fourth factory in Borlänge — which would produce materials for the cathode, a part of a battery — had been abandoned, citing the chairman of the municipality. The reports said the land the site sits on will be sold.
Northvolt has since issued a statement saying no final plans have been made, and it is conducting a review of the site. “That discussion is still ongoing,” a spokesman said.
The Borlänge site was announced in 2022. Northvolt agreed to buy an old paper mill and transform it into a plant to make active materials for the cathode, to be sent to other Northvolt sites for battery manufacturing.
The Borlänge site is part of a wider push at Northvolt to vertically integrate its supply chain. It is also planning a lithium refinery in Portugal, which would see it move further downstream in the battery supply chain.
Northvolt was founded in 2015 and is led by former Tesla exec Peter Carlsson. Its investors include Baillie Gifford, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs.
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By Freya Pratty
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/northvolt-factory-borlange-cancel/
