One of the world's leading manufacturers of lithium and sulfur batteries is now creating new hope in Heide, 100 kilometers south of the Danish-German border, and in the government offices in Kiel. On Thursday, the American Lyten group, headquartered in Silicon Valley, announced that it would take over Northvolt's activities in Sweden and Germany, writes Flensborg Avis.
In Heide, Northvolt had already begun a large construction project of a new battery factory with the prospect of several thousand jobs. But in the middle of the process, the parent company in Sweden was taken into bankruptcy proceedings, and therefore there has long been great uncertainty about the Schleswig-Holstein project.
Both the state government in Kiel and the government in Berlin were ready to support the project with more than five billion. crowns. Although the money has not yet been paid out, it has nevertheless created a major political debate in both the state parliament in Kiel and the Bundestag in Berlin.
Although it may take months before all the details of the purchase are clarified, Thursday's announcement caused joy among Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU), writes Flensborg Avis.
In November, Lyten secured a large Northvolt factory in California, and just a month ago the company announced that it would also take over Northvolt's plant in Gdansk, Poland.
The economics of the takeover have not been disclosed, but previously Northvolt's Swedish plants in Skellefteå and Västerås, the upcoming plant in Heide, which is estimated to cost 4.5 billion euros, and the intangible assets were valued at 4.3 billion euros.
For a number of years, Northvolt was considered a great hope for the European automotive industry, which is struggling to become independent of Chinese suppliers of batteries, among other things. But the high hopes were dashed about a year ago when Northvolt announced layoffs of 1,600 employees in Sweden. In March, the house of cards completely collapsed when Northvolt filed for bankruptcy.
Northvolt has already received extensive public support from German taxpayers. A loan of almost 4.5 billion kroner has been granted from the state development bank KfW - with an equal guarantee from the German state and the state of Schleswig-Holstein - in addition to the commitment of direct support of more than five billion kroner. from the state and the state, writes Flensborg Avis.
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