The deal includes a flagship plant and research center in Sweden, as well as a site for a future plant in Germany, the company said in a statement. Lyten said it plans to work with the Swedish and German governments to expand capacity at these sites.
Lyten CEO and co-founder Dan Cook declined to disclose financial details of the deal, but confirmed that the company acquired the assets “at a significant discount” to their estimated value — about $5 billion.
Lyten, whose investors include the auto group Stellantis NV, agreed last month to acquire the bankrupt company’s Polish assets, and last November, Northvolt’s American asset, the Cuberg plant.
Northvolt was once considered the flagship of the European battery industry, with about 7,000 employees, but a series of management mistakes led to bankruptcy last year. “This is an opportunity for us to accelerate the market for lithium-sulfur technology,” Cook said. “We’ve done it in the U.S., and now we have a great opportunity to do it in Europe.”
Of particular importance for Sweden is that Lyten plans to immediately restart the plant in Skellefteå, which previously employed around 3,000 people. Production was halted in June after the bankruptcy trustee failed to find a buyer. Lyten intends to rehire a significant portion of Northvolt’s former employees in Sweden and gradually restart operations, which will eventually create thousands of jobs.
Production at the Skellefteå plant will initially focus on lithium-ion batteries, with a later transition to dual-chemistry technology, which will also allow the production of lithium-sulfur batteries. The investment is expected to start generating profits within 18–24 months, depending on the product line. Against the background of stable demand for European-made batteries, Lyten is already in talks with former Northvolt customers about concluding commercial contracts.
Founded in 2015, Lyten has been aggressively expanding its market presence to capitalize on growing demand in Europe for batteries for stationary energy storage systems and military drones. The company is gradually moving away from focusing exclusively on the U.S. market due to slowing electric vehicle sales. Its investors include Prime Movers Lab, Luxembourg Future Fund and FedEx Corp.
The company is also looking to the future : Lyten has expressed interest in acquiring Northvolt’s last remaining asset – the site for the Northvolt Six plant in the province of Quebec ( Canada ) .
The startup has already invested about $145.7 million in preparing a site near Montreal for a new factory. The Quebec government has provided a $174 million secured loan tied to the site.
“We have a binding agreement in place with Canada to begin the acquisition process,” Cook said. “We are working closely with the governments of Quebec and Montreal.”
Source: Reuters