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Northvolt extracts 5.4 billion new for its battery production. This will have important consequences for the Västerås research laboratory.
On Tuesday, it became clear that Northvolt had secured an additional $ 600 million, equivalent to SEK 5.4 billion, for the company’s ambitious plans for battery production in Europe. Behind the investment are Baillie Gifford, Baron Capital Group, Bridford Investments Limited, Norrsken VC and PCS Holding, as well as Christina Stenbeck and Daniel Ek of Spotify. Existing financiers Goldman Sachs, the Ikea-affiliated Imas Foundation, Volkswagen and Scania have also invested new money.
The money will be used to expand battery production, improve the recyclability of battery metals and for research and development, Northvolt says in a press release.
150 GWh in 2030
Since last year, Northvolt has a goal of producing 150 GWh battery cells in Europe by 2030.
The Northvolt One plant, which is currently being built in Skellefteå, will eventually have an annual output of 40 GWh, if the company follows through on its plans. It is expected to open in 2021. A permit application is also pending for a Northvolt Zwei in German Salzgitter of 16 GWh, eventually 24 GWh, with a planned start in 2024. No installations for even half the capacity have yet been submitted annual planned 150 GWh in 2030.
At the same time, Northvolt says the investment will have a real impact on the Northvolt Labs research facility in Västerås. It will double in terms of space and investment.
– We have already taken the first steps towards the vision of the future with the establishment of a laboratory for environment and safety, as well as our pilot plant for the Revolt program (Northvolt system for recycling battery metals, editor’s note) at 2020. Now more future investments in the years to come, Jesper Wigardt, Northvolt communications manager, tells Ny Teknik.
19,000 square meters today
Currently, between 300 and 400 people work in Västerås. The facility went online at the end of the year and is approximately 19,000 square meters in size, a footprint that will now double.
The vision is also even broader than that. Northvolt hopes to establish an electrification campus, that is, to become one of the main research and development clusters linked to electrification in Europe. It can be about product or process development, environment, safety, and recycling.
– We will also establish platforms and spaces for collaboration with clients, partners and other external parties such as universities, says Jesper Wigardt.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Carlsson has previously described the Northvolt Labs research facility as an advantage over the company’s Asian competitors. It has become clear that car manufacturers are not content with batteries in the form of a standard solution, but want to participate in the development of cells, and that this is something that Northvolt can offer in Västerås.
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