Picking up the scraps of Northvolt

Northvolt’s bankruptcy last November was a major blow to Europe’s climate tech ambitions.

Once hailed as the continent’s best hope for a homegrown EV battery champion, the Swedish company raised $15B in private capital and secured $50B in orders, only to be undone by technical missteps, reliance on Chinese tech, and a debt-fueled expansion that outpaced production.

California-based Lyten has now acquired Northvolt’s Swedish gigafactory, Polish grid-scale battery facility, German factory plans, IP portfolio, and parts of its leadership, reportedly at a fraction of the original cost and without inheriting debt. The plan: restart lithium-ion production, then pivot quickly to Lyten’s lighter, mineral-efficient lithium-sulphur batteries, less dependent on China-controlled supply chains.

Lyten enters with advantages Northvolt lacked, a clean balance sheet, diversified revenue from military applications and profitable grid-scale operations, and policy support from European EV subsidies. But the core challenge remains: commercial-scale battery manufacturing is unforgiving, and technology differentiation must prove itself at volume.

If Lyten delivers, it could turn a high-profile failure into a model for repurposing stranded industrial capacity in Europe. If not, Northvolt’s story may simply gain a sequel, and a sharper warning for climate tech investors.

More here:  Reuters