Battery Maker Northvolt Hits End of Line

Northvolt AB filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, bringing to an end a company that was once seen as the future of Europe’s battery production.

The Swedish supplier for electric vehicle manufacturers will see its business and assets sold by a court-appointed trustee, according to a statement on March 12.

It had already run out of money last year after a series of operational blunders and filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in November. That legal process provided the company with a temporary lifeline while it sought to get its precarious finances on a stable footing and find new industrial partners. But those efforts were in vain.

“With limited time and financial resources available, the company was unable to conclude the necessary agreements to secure its future,” Northvolt said.

The main operational entities Northvolt AB and Northvolt Ett AB — as well as Northvolt Labs AB, Northvolt Revolt AB and Northvolt Systems AB — filed with the Swedish court. Northvolt Germany and Northvolt North America are not filing for bankruptcy in their respective jurisdictions, the company said.

“This is a loss for the Swedish economy and Skelleftea in particular, for Northvolt, and of course all employees,” said Jenny Askfelt Ruud, Chair of the Board at 4 to 1 Investments AB. The fund had previously written off its entire 5.8 billion Swedish kronor ($577 million) equity investment in the battery maker.

The company’s woes had already led a number of other investors to write down their holdings last year. Northvolt’s major shareholders included Volkswagen AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s asset management arm and Swedish investor Vargas Holding AB.

The demise of Northvolt also raised questions over the extent to which governments should support certain industries and the European Union’s industrial policy more broadly.

“A few years ago, we lost the industrial battle for solar panels,” EU lawmaker Pascal Canfin said in a statement. “It would be a strategic mistake to give up on batteries.”

Sweden’s administration repeatedly ruled out providing direct financial aid to the ailing company as it sought fresh funds to keep its operations going.

“We’re hoping that a long-term solution can be found with an opportunity for someone else to take over the business and ensure continued battery production in Sweden,” Energy Minister Ebba Busch said in a post on X.

Northvolt had been scrambling to avert a funding crunch since 2024, having amassed billions of dollars in debt and equity, secured using $55 billion of contracts from some of Europe’s biggest car and truck makers.

After selling its first battery cells in 2022, Northvolt’s losses tripled in 2023 to $1.03 billion. The company tried to woo investors that year with plans for a stock-market listing at a $20 billion valuation. But by then the growth plans were already coming apart. In September 2024 the group said it was laying off 20% of its workforce and further scaling back its research and development operations.

Unable to arrest the slide in its finances, Northvolt sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S. a bid to raise new financing. However, failure to reach a deal forced it to file for insolvency proceedings in Sweden.

“Let’s focus on working with the trustee to secure the continued production, securing jobs, we hope for a number of people,” Northvolt Interim Chairman Tom Johnstone told reporters on March 12. “Let’s focus on that if we can and look at lessons a bit later.”