March 6, 2025: Swedish battery developer Northvolt has admitted that it has been importing cathode active material from overseas — after a documentary cast doubt on the firm’s sustainability credentials.
According to Northvolt’s website, the firm is developing ‘green batteries for a blue planet’, but in a statement released on February 5 the firm said it was sourcing cathode active material for its cell production from external parties.
The statement came as reporters from Swedish broadcaster SVT interviewed Northvolt employees about imports of the material, an essential component of lithium battery tech. The employees claimed the imports are from China.
Northvolt did not mention China in its statement, saying: “This model — the conventional approach of cell manufacturers — has been in place while Northvolt worked to establish in-house cathode active material production.”
However, the firm said cell production will “continue to rely on externally-sourced cathode active material” for an unspecified period, acknowledging this made it more difficult to verify the origin of materials and increased the risk of exposure to human rights and environmental violations.
The company said it also realised the involvement of multiple intermediaries had a “negative impact” on its ability to control the carbon footprint of production.
“This is particularly concerning as most cathode active material producers are based in Asia, with carbon intensive grids powering production.”
Northvolt said it has calculated that the use of external cathode active material will initially result in an approximate increase of 10kg CO2e/kWh compared to the projected carbon footprint of cells produced with internally produced material — a difference the firm said it aims to eliminate in the coming years.
The latest revelations come at a difficult time for Northvolt, whose co-founder Paolo Cerruti announced he was stepping down as CEO of its North American division in January.
That move came after CEO and co-founder Peter Carlsson stepped down and Northvolt AB and some of its subsidiaries in the US said in November it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.
