Northvolt’s Post

Forging Ahead: Embracing Challenges, Fueling Innovation at Northvolt At Northvolt, we are currently facing significant challenges that test our resilience and determination. However, it is during such times that true innovation and growth emerge. Our commitment to driving the future of sustainable energy remains unwavering, even in the face of adversity. Now more than ever, we must harness our collective strength, creativity, and focus. Challenges are an inherent part of pioneering change, and we have the talent, vision, and resolve to turn these into opportunities. Together, we will not only overcome but emerge stronger, more focused, and more driven in our mission. The road ahead may be demanding, but the future we are building is worth every effort. Let’s continue forward with confidence and unity. #Leadership #Sustainability #Resilience #Northvolt #Innovation 🤞 ✊

Northvolt’s struggle to deliver batteries as promised, with the resulting scale-back of its plans, highlights the difficulty of fostering a strategic industry in defiance of prevalent market dynamics. The core logic of the huge bet on Northvolt seemed, to me, to be that protectionism would shelter and allow it a safe place in which to incubate. Unfortunately, Northvolt could not be sheltered from the unforgiving pace at with the batteries industry l moves globally. Their delay in deliveries to BMW, which caused the cancellation of a multi-billion dollar contract, showcases this - by the time the batteries would have eventually been delivered, they would have been obsolete. Unfortunately, things do move faster in China than in Sweden. Nevertheless, Northvolt’s unfolding failure is sad. Plans are now reduced to something much less ambitious, with heavy reliance on Asian suppliers - chiefly, perhaps, Chinese ones - all but ensured. Investments into the burgeoning Swedish eco-system of suppliers to the batteries industry, too, is bound to be impacted - companies that were scaling up to participate in Northvolt’s supply chain must, obviously, be re-thinking their engagements. https://lnkd.in/drVvuWXh

Northvolt rauhoittelee kanadalaisia, että Ruotsin tehtaan vaikeuksista huolimatta Quebecin akkutehdashanke etenee - mutta viivästyksiä toteutuksessa voi tulla, uutisoi kanadalainen La Presse: "Northvolt President and CEO Peter Carlsson announced that the company would slow down its international development plan to focus on its plant in Sweden. It was indicated at that time that the company was conducting a strategic review of all its business units. Northvolt's latest annual report states that "if necessary," the company could "at any time suspend investments in expansion of new factories," the Journal de Montréal recently reported. ...Nevertheless, the postponement of the schedule for its project in Quebec is one of the options considered in the strategic review, the conclusions of which should be known in September. ....During the strategic review, Northvolt is continuing its hiring in Quebec. The company has just under 150 employees there to date. Most of the hires are for engineering positions, particularly to plan the construction of the plant." #akkutehtaat #northvolt #kanada #quebec https://lnkd.in/gK3N7zef

The problems facing the Swedish EV battery manufacturer Northvolt (along with other European battery manufacturers), (please see the Swedish business newspaper Dagen Industri today Sept 23, 2024) I foresaw and wrote about here on LinkedIn already when Northvolt published its plans to start its factory. A greenfield investment in Sweden, competing with already established car manufacturers and Chinese battery producers, could in my eyes not have a good future. One does not need to have in-depth knowledge into the sector to realize that! For Northvolt 2023 saw revenues of MUSD 126 and a loss of staggering MUSD 1,033 before tax, I have not been able to obtain interim figures for 2024 as the company is not public. Alone the initial investment and the production costs in Sweden (compared to Asia) spoke against it. Further, neither the Swedish nor other European governments seemed to intend to give the necessary financial incentives to buy the significantly more expensive EVs, compared to the traditional combustion powered ones. I am sure my old friend and classmate from the university, Peter Carlsson, had good intentions but was probably blinded by the EV hype at the time and inspired by his job at Tesla/Elon Musk. I offered him to support the start-up venture with my risk management knowledge but the answer was "we do not need a risk manager now....". Well I think risk management is heavily underrated - still 2024 - at least outside the financial sector and it would most likely have been also there if it were not for the laws and regulations, most of which came as result of the financial crisis 2008. https://lnkd.in/dWN57ke3 https://lnkd.in/dghBG72v

🔋 Northvolt: From Europe's Hope to Disappointment 🔋 This is an amazing about-face for this company that was only months ago touted as Europe's answer to the rising demand for electric vehicle batteries. Northvolt is taking a heavy drubbing from operational pressures. On September 9, Swedish battery maker Northvolt announced it was suspending operations in its flagship factory and started to lay off workers, citing financial challenges and weak demand for electric vehicles. Now, Northvolt-which had raised an astonishing $15 billion in funding and was said to be integral to Europe's green tech revolution-is struggling to find its footing. Competition from Asian makers, especially China, is getting more intense, while the demand for EVs in Europe isn't developing at a pace. In the first half of this year, demand for battery-powered vehicles in Europe grew only 1.3%, sharply down from the 14.6% growth recorded in the same period last year. What is taking place at Northvolt speaks to greater dynamics about Europe's standing in the automobile industry: with production costs skyrocketing, continuing to lose market share to Chinese rivals, the future of European automakers and battery makers remains murky. But even after the heavy financing and significant government support, setbacks in Northvolt prove how scaling up in this resource-intensive, hyper-competitive industry is tough. We see Northvolt fight for its survival, and that is a clear omen that companies should be at their best to stay ahead in the ever-evolving landscape of EVs. The future of both Northvolt and other European manufacturers will require not only innovation but strategic resilience that matches the pressures of global competition. #Northvolt #ElectricVehicles #Batteries #AutomotiveIndustry #Sustainability #Innovation #Europe

Northvolt is today announcing its initial steps to be taken as part of its strategic review. These measures reflect a challenging macroeconomic environment and our subsequent reassessment of Northvolt’s near-term priorities, leading to a re-scope of operations and appropriate resizing of our workforce. The strategic review’s core objective is to focus resources on becoming a leader in sustainable large-scale cell manufacturing. This endeavour entails ramping up the first phase of the Northvolt Ett gigafactory, Sweden, whilst continuing to leverage the world-class R&D facility Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden. This is a key requirement for Northvolt to maintain its position as a leading cell manufacturer in the Western world. Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, commented: “With the strategic review now underway, we are having to take some tough actions for the purpose of securing the foundations of Northvolt’s operations to improve our financial stability and strengthen our operational performance. While conditions at this time are challenging, there remains no question that the global transition towards electrification — and the long-term outlook for cell manufacturers, including Northvolt — is strong.” [...] In line with its focus on large-scale cell manufacturing, Northvolt remains committed to NOVO (Sweden), Northvolt Drei (Germany), and Northvolt Six (Canada), and is in close dialogue with the key stakeholders involved.

'In adjusting its near-term ambitions and focusing on the ramp-up of the first 16 GWh phase of Northvolt Ett, Northvolt positions itself to prioritize commitments to its current automotive customers. This priority is further being supported by a recently introduced acceleration program geared to further increase levels of production. The program is already demonstrating results and contributed to Northvolt Ett cell production increasing threefold since the beginning of this year.' https://lnkd.in/ezpQzAi6

Northvolt's struggles reflect broader challenges that Europe's nascent electric vehicle and battery industry faces. But despite massive capital investments-in Northvolt's case, $15 billion to date-the company is finding it difficult to remain competitive in a market dominated by an aggressive Asian, mainly Chinese manufacturing push. Operational setbacks, financial losses, and delays in planned joint ventures suggest that the capacity of the European market to support such ambitious green technology projects may have been overestimated. Only adding to Northvolt's woes is the fact that demand for battery-powered vehicles has cooled off in Europe, posting a nominal 1.3% growth in the first half of 2024 from a growth of 14.6% last year. This has been due to strong competition from China, where production costs are low in comparison and technological development is quite rapid. It has forced European giants such as Volkswagen and Volvo to seriously reconsider their strategies; with some even dropping their all-electric vehicle sales targets, such as Volvo for 2030. A string of accidents, such as the death of three workers shortly after their shifts, calls into question Northvolt's operational management and workplace safety. Besides this estimate, it predicted a loss of $1.2 billion for the year 2023-nearly a fourfold increase on the $285 million loss reported the previous year. Delays in joint-venture factories currently under construction in Sweden, Germany, and Canada further underpin the challenges this company faces. The situation of Northvolt, thus, is one real test of how deep the challenges are for building a competitive and sustainable green technology industry in Europe. From being hailed earlier as a beacon of hope and potential competitor to China's dominance in the EV battery market, Northvolt has gone on to being questioned on grounds of scaling up operations, keeping finances in order, and competing in a world where cost and efficiency would be tantamount to everything else. The crystal clear lesson that emerges for Europe is that ambition alone will not be enough; strategic execution, competitive pricing, and operational excellence are needed to remain competitive in fast-changing green technologies. #Northvolt #EV

With cost cutting underway, it does not look like Northvolt IPO this year: "As part of our strategic review, the Northvolt Board has agreed to the following actions: In Skellefteå, Sweden, Northvolt intends to place operations at Northvolt Ett Upstream 1 cathode active material production facility into care and maintenance until further notice. This is motivated by a necessity to streamline operating costs, as well as optimize the sequencing of Northvolt Ett’s ramp-up. In Borlänge, Sweden, the Northvolt Fem program on the Kvarnsveden site will be terminated. The site was acquired by Northvolt in 2022 and was envisioned as a new facility for cathode active material production. Northvolt has concluded an agreement for the sale of the site. In Gdańsk, Poland, Northvolt aims to assure the successful future of Northvolt Systems, including Northvolt Dwa, Europe’s largest battery systems production facility. To enable this, Northvolt will enter into discussions with potential future partners and investors that can capitalize the production of battery systems and packs. In California, United States, Northvolt has already communicated its intention to integrate its subsidiary Cuberg and lithium metal technology into Northvolt Labs, Sweden."