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Local Sweden
07-08-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
Lyten agrees to buy bankrupt Swedish battery company Northvolt
"It may not be possible to say that this is a success for the creditors," he told the Norran newspaper. "It has been a race against time. It costs a lot to have the factory even though we have reduced production and other things." The US company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but the trustee trustee Mikael Kubu said that Lyten was not paying enough to allow Northvolt's creditors to recover their debts. Lyten was co-founded and is chaired by the Swede Lars Herlitz, a former Ericsson engineer who has spent the last 30 years as an entrepreneur in California. Herlitz told the Ny Teknik newspaper last month that Northvolt's assets in Skellefteå and Germany would be "a perfect fit" for his company. 'This is a defining moment for Lyten,' Dan Cook, the company's CEO and Co-Founder, said. 'Lyten's mission is to be the leading supplier of clean, locally sourced and manufactured batteries and energy storage systems in both North America and Europe. The acquisition of Northvolt's assets brings the facilities and Swedish talent to accelerate this mission by years, just at the moment when demand for Lyten lithium-sulfur batteries is growing exponentially to meet energy independence, national security, and AI data center needs.' In a press release issued on Thursday, the US company said it was buying Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion in Skellefteå, Northvolt Labs in Västerås, and Northvolt Drei in Heide, Germany. The company is also buying all remaining Northvolt intellectual property (IP), and taking on key members of the current Northvolt executive team. In its press release Lyten said that the assets it had agreed to acquire had previously been valued at $5 billion and included 16 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity, more than15 GWh of capacity under construction, and, with the Västerås facility, the largest and most advanced battery R&D center in Europe. Advertisement Lyten said it planned to rehire much of the workforce that had previously been laid-off. "Lyten's acquisition of the Northvolt assets is a win for Sweden, for the former employees of Northvolt, and for positioning Sweden as key to Europe's energy independence," Sweden's business minister Ebba Busch said in the press release. "We have been working closely with the trustee and Lyten to fully support this deal and we are excited to work with Lyten moving forward to make good on the immense potential of these assets." Lorents Burman, the mayor of Skellefteå, said that the the agreement had come as a relief. "That the battery factory can now live on is important, both for the people of Skellefteå and all those who now have the chance to get their jobs back, and that is why we are happy about this news," he told the TT newswire. "It has been a long journey since September last year and this is finally a result of all the work we have done. In my opinion, there was no alternative, but this was the only possible outcome that would eventually lead to a result." Lyten is funding the purchase through money raised from private investors, with the various transactions dependent on approvals from the Swedish and German governments and the EU. Lyten expects the deal to close in the final three months of this year. 'The demand for European and North American made batteries is only growing,' said Lars Herlitz, Lyten's Chairman and Co-Founder. 'The combination of Northvolt's world-class manufacturing assets and low-cost clean energy, Lyten's world leading lithium-sulfur battery technology, and Lyten's US battery materials supply chain creates the right formula to fulfill Europe and North America's battery manufacturing ambitions." Advertisement Lyten currently manufactures lithium-sulfur batteries in Silicon Valley and is selling commercially into the rapidly growing drone and defense markets. Lyten is also preparing to launch its lithium-sulfur batteries onto the International Space Station in the coming months and has a multi-billion-dollar pipeline for BESS powered by lithium-sulphur. The company will hold a press conference in Skellefteå at 1030am on Friday, Swedish time.
Local Sweden
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Inside Sweden: Northvolt's foreign staff, 'track changes' and... and... atchoo!
Hej, I'm writing this with what is just a cold, but feels more like one of the worst kinds of hangovers from my university days. Is it just me or does everyone have a cold right now? We've had a couple of turbulent weeks on The Local Sweden's editorial team, with me vabbing, Becky going to Brussels, Richard attending the Swedish Journalism Union's annual congress and so on – hopefully we've still managed to bring you the news you need! There's a Swedish word, vabruary or vabruari, which refers to VAB (staying at home to care for a sick child) and the month of February, which is usually when all the winter bugs really hit. But this year they seem to have had a delayed peak. At least spring is now on its way, although I guess readers with pollen allergies will be less than happy about that. It's been a turbulent week for Swedish business as well, after Northvolt filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. A shocking, albeit not surprising, decision after the events of the past year. When the battery maker announced its layoffs last year, I wrote an opinion piece arguing that Sweden needs to rethink the three-month window laid-off work permit holders have to secure a new job before they're forced to leave Sweden. At the time, a spokesperson for the migration minister said extending the deadline wasn't being considered as an option. The government has so far been reluctant to be drawn on the question of whether or not the three-month deadline might be extended to help keep foreign talent in the country. 'Too early to say,' said Labour Minister Mats Persson. Business Minister Ebba Busch appeared to at least not close the door completely. 'We will return to the rules, they are as they are today, there are some exceptions today regarding the 90 days, but it is an issue that my ministerial colleague Johan Forssell will return to – whether there is reason to change the rules,' she told the Norran newspaper. Migration Minister Johan Forssell has at the time of writing, and as far as I can see, not yet said anything on the matter, but I've sent a request for a comment to his press office. In other news Speaking of talent attraction, The Local's publisher James Savage this week called Forssell out on not inviting a single foreigner to his expert group tasked with working out what might make Sweden more attractive to highly-skilled foreigners. After all, as one reader pointed out in the comments, it would be almost unthinkable for a senior Moderate minister to set up an all-male business council to talk about women's issues. A decision to abolish so-called 'track changes' from April 1st could lead to thousands of former asylum seekers currently on work permits having to leave Sweden. We're getting lots of questions from readers about what exactly this means for them, and have been in touch with the Migration Agency to hopefully interview one of their officials next week. Sweden is planning to ban pupils from having phones in schools. This week's episode of Sweden in Focus Extra for Membership+ subscribers features Katie Dodd Syk, an American in Sweden and co-founder of Smartphone Free Childhood Sverige. adding that developments in the US could see it worsen. And speaking of the US, we're asking US citizens what their fellow Americans should consider before moving to Sweden. If that's you, you can still fill out the survey here. A political scandal is looming for Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson after his former national security adviser (and friend) was charged with carelessness with secret information. Do you use Whatsapp? My Swedish friends use Messenger and most of my foreign friends in Sweden use Whatsapp, but I don't know if that's generally true? Whatsapp is threatening to pull out of Sweden if a new law is passed which would allow the police and security services to read even encrypted communication in chat apps and emails. Next week you can start filing your Swedish taxes. To end on a happy and hopeful note, we asked The Local's readers to share what they love most about spring in Sweden and reading their answers brought a smile to my face. Have a good weekend, Emma Löfgren Editor, The Local Sweden
