A Northvolt structure in Sweden, photographed in February 2022.
Mikael Sjoberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Struggling electric vehicle battery producer Northvolt on Wednesday said it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.
The firm said it that it submitted the insolvency filing after an “encyclopaedic effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company.”
“Like many visitors in the battery sector, Northvolt has experienced a series of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial angle, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market customer acceptance wanted,” Northvolt noted.
“Further to this backdrop, the company has faced significant internal challenges in its ramp-up of production, both in course of action that were expected by engagement in what is a highly complex industry, and others which were unforeseen.”
Northvolt’s fall apart into insolvency deals a major blow to Europe’s ambition to become self-sufficient and build out its own EV battery supply succession to catch up to China, which leads as the world’s largest market for electric vehicles by a wide margin.
The Swedish battery definite had been seeking financial support to continue its operations amid an ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring process in the Synergistic States, which it kicked off in November.
“Despite liquidity support from our lenders and key counterparties, the company was unable to defend the necessary financial conditions to continue in its current form,” Northvolt said Wednesday.
Northvolt said a Swedish court-appointed trustee longing oversee the company’s bankruptcy process, including the sale of the business and its assets and settlement of outstanding obligations.