Swedish Battery Maker Northvolt Raises $1.2 Billion For Factory Expansion

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--Swedish battery maker Northvolt has raised $1.2 billion from investors including BlackRock and Canadian pension firms ahead of a planned expansion in Europe and North America, it said Tuesday.

The capital raise, through a convertible note issue, means the company has now secured more than $9 billion in equity and debt to deliver on more than $55 billion of orders from customers including BMW, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen.

"We are receiving significant interest from capital markets to support our mission," said Northvolt Co-Founder and Chief Executive Peter Carlsson.

"The commitment to global decarbonization is strong, and these milestones reinforces our position to meet the massive demand for sustainable battery solutions both in Europe and North America."

The fundraising announced Tuesday was led by BlackRock, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as well as Canadian pension-plan provider Omers. It is an extension of a $1.1 billion convertible note issued last month that saw Goldman Sachs, Baillie Gifford, Volkswagen, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Hong Kong-based conglomerate Chow Tai Fook Enterprises invest, among others.

Northvolt currently designs and develops battery cells at factories in Vasteras, Sweden and California, U.S. Battery cell manufacturing is ramping up at its factory in Skelleftea, Sweden, while additional projects are under development in Sweden, Germany and Portugal.

The company said it has also assembled its first energy storage system products in Poland, with customer deliveries expected to start later this year.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 22, 2023 05:11 ET (09:11 GMT)

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