Northvolt Ett CEO Mark Duchesne steps down
Mark Duchesne, CEO of Northvolt Ett, the Swedish battery company’s manufacturing facility in Skellefteå, is stepping down from his position. This follows months of significant economic challenges for the company.
The resignation was reported by multiple independent sources to Dagens Nyheter (DN) and later confirmed by Northvolt's communications director, Matti Kataja.
Taking over as interim head of Northvolt Ett is Angéline Bilodeau, a senior executive currently based at Northvolt’s North American division in Canada. Bilodeau will assume the role immediately and continue until a permanent CEO is appointed by the year’s end.
“The position will be held until the end of the year, when Northvolt will appoint a permanent CEO for Northvolt Ett,” Kataja told DN in a text message.
On October 8, Northvolt announced that its subsidiary, Northvolt Ett Expansion AB – which manages the expansion project – had filed for bankruptcy with the Stockholm District Court. This followed the earlier suspension of the Northvolt Ett Expansion project, which has been touted as a key part of Northvolt's strategy to boost production capacity at the plant in Skellefteå.
In a press release, Northvolt clarified that the subsidiary had no direct employees and was mainly responsible for overseeing construction efforts. The filing was driven by the financial difficulties facing Ett Expansion AB.
The expansion project had been put on hold on September 23, when Northvolt Group shifted its operational focus in Sweden. This change led to the layoffs of approximately 1,600 workers in Sweden, spread across Skellefteå (1,000), Västerås (400), and Stockholm (200). All work on the project has been halted since then, and future dealings with the subsidiary will now be managed by a bankruptcy trustee.
Northvolt stressed that the bankruptcy only impacts Northvolt Ett Expansion AB. The larger Northvolt Group, which includes over 20 different entities, continues to operate as usual.
