US battery company Lyten has agreed to buy Swedish gigafactory Northvolt’s remaining assets out of bankruptcy and plans to continue operations at the site, the company said in a statement.
Lyten, whose backers include McKinsey, Stellantis and Honeywell, has acquired Northvolt’s only up-and-running factory in Skellefteå, in the north of Sweden, as well as a site in Germany and Northvolt’s remaining IP.
Northvolt, once seen as Europe’s best candidate to become a domestic battery champion, filed for bankruptcy in March after failing to secure the financing needed to continue its operations. The company was founded in 2015 and had raised €15bn in debt and equity. Its largest stakeholders were car manufacturer Volkswagen and investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Lyten, which is based in California, manufactures lithium-sulfur batteries in Silicon Valley and sells to the rapidly growing drone and defence markets. Northvolt’s prime markets had been electric vehicles and energy storage applications.
Ebba Busch, the deputy prime minister of Sweden, described the deal with Lyten as “a win for Sweden, for the former employees of Northvolt, and for positioning Sweden as key to Europe’s energy independence.”
In November last year, Lyten acquired Northvolt’s battery facility in California. In July, it then acquired Northvolt’s facility in Poland, which manufactures batteries for energy storage. Lyten is also in discussions to acquire Northvolt’s operations in Quebec, Canada, Northvolt said in a statement.
Last month, around 3,000 former Northvolt employees were asked if they would return to work at the company under a new owner. It is unknown how many responded.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/northvolt-assets-sold-lyten/
