Northvolt raises $600M to invest in capacity expansion, R&D and recycling

The company says it will use the funds to expand its production and recycling capacity as well as R&D activities to support the target of establishing 150 GWh of manufacturing capacity in Europe by 2030. In this private placement, a new group of international institutional investors join as Northvolt shareholders; Baillie Gifford, Baron Capital Group, Bridford Investments Limited, Norrsken VC & PCS Holding. Private investors Cristina Stenbeck and Daniel Ek also participates in the equity raise together with existing Northvolt shareholders Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division, IMAS Foundation, Scania and Volkswagen AG. “We are in the middle of a race to establish manufacturing capacity in Europe, and I believe the companies that are best at attracting talent and capital, while scaling their blueprints the fastest, will be the most successful. With these world-class partners behind us, we have created a solid foundation to go on and execute our plans to enable large-scale manufacturing of green batteries in Europe,” says Peter Carlsson, co-founder and CEO of Northvolt, in a press release. Northvolt will utilise the private placement to make further investments in three key areas. The company says it will increase its production capacity of battery cells and systems to support the target of establishing 150 GWh of manufacturing output in Europe by 2030. It will also expand the Northvolt Labs Campus, where its R&D activities take place. The lad is expected to double in size over the coming years in terms of investment and footprint. Adding to this the company says it is planning to establish a giga-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility next to the Northvolt Ett gigafactory in the north of Sweden. The company says the facility will become the largest in the world with an initial capacity of 4 GWh, and the only large-scale facility in Europe capable of recycling lithium in addition to cobalt, nickel, manganese and other metals. The Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden, with a potential annual output of 40 GWh, is under construction and scheduled for start of production in 2021. In parallel, the permitting process is underway for Northvolt Zwei in Salzgitter, Germany, which is scheduled to commence operations in 2024 with an initial output of 16 GWh. Collectively, these initiatives will facilitate Northvolt’s target of a 25% market share in Europe by 2030, equaling approximately 150 GWh of commissioned annual production capacity, with 50% of its raw material coming from recycled batteries.