Recently, according to foreign media reports, the growth of the European electric vehicle market has slowed down, causing Swedish battery startup Northvolt to face a new round of financing difficulties.
At the same time, the Swedish government has made it clear that it will not provide financial assistance to it.
Faced with difficulties, Northvolt is looking for multiple ways to alleviate the current crisis.
, As a leader in the European battery industry, Northvolt has attracted much attention since its establishment.
However, as uncertainty in demand for electric vehicles in Europe increases, Northvolt’s capital chain problems have gradually become prominent.
Especially when major customers such as its largest shareholder Volkswagen Group and Volvo Cars issued warnings of slowing sales growth of electric vehicles, Northvolt’s financial situation was even worse.
Previously, BMW canceled a US$2 billion contract with Northvolt due to delivery delays, which further exacerbated Northvolt’s difficulties.
Faced with current challenges, Northvolt has taken a series of measures to respond to the crisis.
These include layoffs, partial closure of its superfactory in Skellefteå, Sweden, and consideration of postponing the construction of three other superfactories in Sweden, Germany and Canada.
Since its establishment in 2017, Northvolt has successfully raised more than US$15 billion in funding, becoming one of the leading private startups in Europe.
However, due to concerns about the electric vehicle market and uncertainty about its own financial situation, Northvolt is working hard to build support for its latest round of financing.
Despite the pressure facing Northvolt, its CEO Peter Carlsson emphasized the company’s importance to the future of European manufacturing.
He said that the success of Northvolt is not only related to Europe’s competitiveness in the field of green industries, but also to Europe’s position in the global manufacturing landscape.
A person familiar with the matter said: “If Europe does not want to become a ‘museum’, it needs to support industries and companies like Northvolt.
” At the same time, Freyr, another battery manufacturer headquartered in Norway, also announced that it would temporarily shelve its factory project in Norway and instead prioritize development plans in the United States.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by U.S. President Joe Biden, Freyr is expected to receive more generous subsidy support in the United States.
This decision reflects the strategic adjustments made by international companies in the face of different market policy environments.
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