The acute financial crisis at Swedish battery producer Northvolt seems to be over. The tax authorities received Skr287 million ($27.7 million) tax payment on 14 October.
The next hurdle will be payment of the employees’ salaries on 25 October. Around 340 employees, mainly engineers and white-collar workers, will have to leave, which is slightly fewer than previously announced. More than 1,000 blue-collar workers are still waiting for the final decision on being laid off.
However, the rigours of the ambitious project seem to continue. Several sources said that Northvolt is selling off parts of its raw material stock, which has a relatively short shelf-life. It is important to realise the capital tied up in the stock, they note.
Analysts said the likely buyers of the materials would be companies in the battery supply chain. The stock of nickel sulphate to be sold is used to make the precursors that go into the cathode components of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.
There is light in the Swedish late autumn darkness. Harald Mix of Vargas, a Swedish investment company, said that he has a firm belief in Northvolt and the company’s role in the future green transition of European industry. He is willing to invest more money than the Skr1 billion ($95 million) he already has put in. “The demand from the customers is there. There will be a huge market for green products in the future and though there are some bumps in the road the direction is clear.”
According to the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, Goldman Sachs is considering new financing for Northvolt. The owners are supposed to add Skr2 billion ($190 million) to the company’s funds, which will give Northvolt some space to breathe and secure salaries and compensation to the suppliers. Some partner companies, e.g. the construction company Titan Infrastruktur already declared bankruptcy.
Two companies told BEST their orders from Northvolt – for production line automation and systems testing respectively – had been cancelled.