This Battery Startup Raised $15 Billion. Then It Went Bust.

"Northvolt was one of the world’s most valuable battery startups. Now it
has run out of charge.
Over the past week, the Swedish company filed for bankruptcy in the U.S.
and said its co-founder was stepping down as chief executive, after a
turbulent year of production problems and job cuts.
The move marks a stark change in fortunes for a company that was once
vaunted as Europe’s best hope for competing with China’s dominant
battery makers. Northvolt’s collapse also underscores the difficulty
Western companies face in establishing a foothold in the industry.
..
Founded by Carlsson and another former Tesla executive in 2016,
Northvolt’s goal was to become a reliable European source of battery
cells to help power the region’s transition to EVs. Governments and
investors were eager to support a homegrown player that could reduce the
West’s reliance on China.
By the end of 2023, Northvolt had secured about $15 billion in debt,
equity and grants, while its order book had swelled to more than $50
billion. German auto giant Volkswagen was among the top backers with a
21% stake, while Goldman Sachs held about 19% of Northvolt’s shares.
Northvolt planned to build new factories in Canada and Germany, backed
by billions of dollars in subsidies and was set to expand its main
facility in Skellefteå, a Swedish city near the Arctic Circle.
But Northvolt reported losses of roughly $1.2 billion, with revenue of
just $128 million for 2023.
“I should have probably pulled the brake earlier on some of the
expansion paths,” Carlsson said Friday.
Northvolt’s problems became more evident this year. In March, truck
maker Scania said it was behind on its electrification plans, telling a
Swedish newspaper that the battery maker hadn’t kept up with deliveries.
In June, BMW pulled a roughly $2 billion contract with Northvolt.
Northvolt said the BMW contract represented a small portion of its
overall order book. But the setback marked a turning point.
Since June, Northvolt has cut a quarter of its Swedish workforce and
suspended an expansion project at Skellefteå. It also scrapped plans for
a second factory in Sweden and shut down a subsidiary in California.
Carmaker Volvo said last month that it would acquire Northvolt’s shares
in a joint venture after the startup failed to meet its financing
obligations."
https://www.wsj.com/business/this-battery-startup-raised-15-billion-then-it-went-bust-817418b4