Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt announced on the 29th that it has assembled the first lithium-ion battery at the Ett super factory in Skelleftea, and has managed to meet the target of battery production before the end of 2021.
Although lithium-ion batteries are mainly manufactured in Asia and the US, the company is hopeful that it can alter the status quo. Northvolt commented that its particular battery is fully designed, research and developed, as well as assembled by local companies, in Europe, and the final products had departed from the assembly line on the 28th. Peter Carlsson, the founder and CEO of Northvolt, stated that this is merely the beginning for the company. Carlsson is hoping that a continuous expansion in future capacity will be able to help with the energy transition in Europe.
The super factory of Northvolt initiated groundbreaking in 2019, and aims to commence production by the end of 2021, which is now attained on time.
Northvolt plans to begin commercial delivery in 2022. The super factory Ett is estimated to arrive at an annual capacity of 60GWh in the future, which is enough to supply batteries for one million EVs. Northvolt, in less than six years since its establishment, has received contracts worth more than US$30 billion, with clients ranging from BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Polestar.
Northvolt aims to lower the dependency on Asia-made batteries for Europe. As one of Tesla’s competitors in batteries, Northvolt was estimated at a market share of roughly US$12 billion during June this year, and has now obtained more than US$6.5 billion of investment. The latest round of financing is led by Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen, with new investors including Swedish Pension Fund AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4, as well as Canadian pension provider OMERS. Previous investors, such as Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and investment management company Baillie Gifford, have also participated in the latest round of financing.
(Photo source: Northvolt)