Future of Northvolt in Kiel: Financing negotiations continue!

Future of Northvolt in Kiel: Financing negotiations continue!

Heide, Deutschland - The future of the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is on the brink! Negotiations on urgently needed financing are in favor, and the company, which is building a gigafabrik in Schleswig-Holstein, is holding back with official information. According to a report by the “Financial Times”, Northvolt is looking for short -term sources of financing to avert the impending crisis.

Financial support in danger

The EU Commission had approved funding and guarantees of over 902 million euros for the billion dollar project in Heide at the beginning of the year. But the reality looks dark: the federal government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein have so far only promised around 700 million euros, and the first state funds of 137 million euros have not yet flowed. A government spokeswoman emphasizes that the country sees the need for sovereign battery cell production, but does not take a position to finance the company.

The KfW-Förderbank offers Northvolt a convertible bond as a temporary liquidity aid in the amount of 600 million euros. However, this must later be repaid with the market that is customary in the market, which also affects the company's financial situation. In the meantime, Northvolt announced the dismissal of around 1,600 employees in Sweden and put several expansion plans on hold. The focus is now on large series production in the Northvolt Ett factory in Skellefteå. Despite the difficulties, the Germany boss Christofer Haux confirmed the commitment to the construction of the battery factory in Schleswig-Holstein at the beginning of October.