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Beleaguered Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt announced on Thursday that it was filing for failure in the U.S. , striking a blow to Europe ’s ambitions for homegrown lithium - ion batteries .
The companyreportedlychose Chapter 11 in an drive to redress its finances . In the wake of the filing , co - beginner and CEO Peter Carlsson quit , though he ’ll stay on on as an advisor and a extremity of the display board .
“ Today mark a significant young phase angle for Northvolt as well as for me in person , ” Carlsson said in astatement . “ The Chapter 11 filing allows a period during which the ship’s company can be reorganized , ramp up process while respect client and supplier commitments , and at last position itself for the long - term . That makes it a good time for me to hand over to the next multiplication of leaders . ”
Northvolt , which had soar up for years on the back of strong fundraising and a string of proclamation about raw facilities , has stumbled of previous . Itlaid off 1,600 employee , about 20 % of its workforce , in September , andunloaded assetsin November from its sick - fated leverage of Bay Area battery inauguration Cuberg .
The company has raise $ 14.26 billion , fit in to PitchBook , include a $ 1.2 billion bout in 2023 to blow up operation in North America . But that was n’t enough to keep the cash - famish operation buy the farm . The companyreportedlywas burning through $ 100 million per month . When BMW pull out of a $ 2 billion contract in June after Northvolt failed to deliver on time , bankruptcy became almost inevitable .
This is n’t the first time a battery fabrication startup come to a rocky plot — A123 Systems ’ failure over a ten agostands outas a prominent model in the U.S. — and it likely wo n’t be the last . gain Li - ion cells is fiendishly difficult , ask deep knowledge of chemical science , product equipment , and quality improvement . Even lead party suffer from dear problems , sometimes to the air of$1 billion . Northvolt ’s failure is plausibly more a signaling of pathetic execution than delicate - than - expected demand for electron volt .
Is this the conclusion for the Swedish company ? Not of necessity . For one , Volkswagen owns part of the company , and it has placed a big wager on EVs , for which it ’ll involve millions of electric cell . Plus , Europe , like other innovative economies , has been rushing to stake a title in the battery fabrication distance , and Northvolt seemed like its best chance to contend with Asiatic rivals . It may still be , perhaps with the service of one of those rival through some kind of partnership , but first it has to get its house in order .
