Europe’s Hope to Combat China
Northvolt, the Swedish manufacturer of batteries for electric cars, will stop production in its main factory in Sweden in June. Northvolt was Europe’s hope to develop a competitor to the major battery manufacturers from China, but the group filed for bankruptcy in March. The company was burdened by weaker demand for batteries for electric cars.
In March, the trustee still hoped that the ailing company could continue production while a buyer was sought. But by now there was only one customer left, truck manufacturer Scania. That was not sustainable in the long term, so production is now being gradually reduced. The trustee is still making efforts to find a buyer.
Northvolt had previously been forced to lay off half of its employees, with approximately 1,700 people remaining employed during the bankruptcy process.