October 18, 2024: Sweden’s Northvolt is trying to sell off its stockpile of battery-making materials, three sources familiar with the matter said this week, as the company tries to shore up its finances in the face of declining sales.
As the battery manufacturer’s cash woes continue to mount, this latest effort to survive a struggling EV market comes in the same week that Mark Duchesne, the head of the Northvolt Ett plant — Europe’s first homegrown gigafactory — stepped down with immediate effect. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Angeline Bilodeau, the vice president of Northvolt’s operations in North America, the company said.
This news followed an announcement from the stricken Swedish manufacturer last month that it was reducing its workforce by 1,600 jobs, or one-fifth, as part of a major cost-cutting drive, marking a departure from its mission to be an all-in-one shop offering everything from material production and battery making to end-of-life recycling.
Seen as Europe’s best hope for a homegrown EV battery maker, Northvolt has been blighted with difficulties in recent months as it fights to survive amid production problems, sluggish demand and competition from China.
The company said the ramp-up of its battery production at the gigafactory, built to serve the European auto industry’s transition to EV’s, had progressed more slowly than planned, and that it would seek to speed this up.
It also said it will now focus on large-scale battery cell manufacturing, and its decision to halt production of cathode active materials (CAM) at the gigafactory meant stocks of raw materials nickel sulphate and lithium hydroxide were now redundant.
A spokesperson for Northvolt said it continues to plan for a vertically integrated battery strategy.
“Ever since we produced our first battery cell at Northvolt Ett in Skelleftea in 2021, we have collaborated with partners who deliver externally produced cathode active material.”
“We do not comment on our overall supply chain strategy,” the spokesperson added.
