Monday 14 October is a critical date for Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt. On that date the Swedish tax authority expects the company to transfer Skr287 million ($27.7 million) to cover taxes and social security costs for the employees.
If Northvolt fails to come up with the money, the authority will send a reminder and if the company is unable to pay within a month a bankruptcy procedure will be initiated.
The IF Metall trade union has also warned it may initiate bankruptcy proceedings if its members’ wages are not paid for October.
These are not the only worries for Northvolt, which has reached only 5% of the planned production capacity and which announced the lay-off of 1,600 employees on 23 September, closing down parts of the factory.
- On 9 October Mark Duchesne, the CEO of the main production plant Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå, announced his immediate resignation and replacement by a temporary successor. Duchesne previously worked as global head of manufacturing in the European joint venture between truck manufacturer Iveco and Nikola, the electric truck maker.
- On 8 October, Northvolt said the subsidiary company managing the expansion of the main plant, Northvolt Ett Expansion, had filed for bankruptcy. This followed a previous announcement that Northvolt was not going to expand the plant. The bankruptcy does not relate to any of the other legal entities in the wider Northvolt group.
More dark clouds have appeared over Northvolt, which aims to be the first European battery manufacturer with a full production chain, from components to battery cells. The anode production is a technical challenge, since China stopped export of synthetic graphite in 2020 and introduced restrictions for natural graphite in 2023.
The Chinese company PTL is planning a new factory in Timrå, around 400km south of Skellefteå. The unit will produce graphite from waste products from the petrochemical industry.
But the plans are far from being realised. The most optimistic scenario predicts start of production in late 2026. The authorities are checking the owners’ background and the environmental impact of the factory, which will consume huge amounts of energy for the process.
Other challenges are that Northvolt has started construction of its Skellefteå premises without official permission and that 47 cases related to use of process chemicals have been reported.
