Insolvent! Northvolt executives pull the plug in the USA and Sweden

Tough development Insolvent! Northvolt executives pull the plug in the USA and Sweden

2025-03-13 Source: dpa | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is bankrupt. Operations have ceased in the USA and Sweden. This moves the independence from Chinese batteries further out of reach...

Independence adé? Northvolt is insolvent. Now the future of the battery factory in Heide is certainly shaky. But Northvolt is not the only company that is having problems with battery production ...(Image: Northvolt) — Independence adé? Northvolt is insolvent. Now the future of the battery factory in Heide is certainly shaky. But Northvolt is not the only company that is having problems with battery production ...
(Image: Northvolt)

Northvolt's activities in the USA and even at its home base in Sweden are a thing of the past for the time being. Nevertheless, construction work is to continue on the battery factory in Heide in Germany, which could have a capacity of one million batteries for electric cars per year. But the question is: for how much longer? Robert Habeck, who is still Federal Minister of Economics, is nevertheless of the opinion that an investor can be found - both for Heide and for the parent company. Other politicians are also urgently calling for a battery factory in Germany, as Europe is also very dependent on Asia when it comes to batteries. Northvolt was the first European player to attempt to manufacture battery cells on a large scale, they say. The insolvency administrator will now have to decide what happens at the construction site in Heide. VW, as the largest shareholder in Northvolt, has already written off its 20 percent stake completely in 2024 and set the value to zero. This resulted in a charge of 661 million euros (approx. 719.56 million USD).

German battery production stagnates above all

As if that wasn't enough with Northvolt! Unfortunately, plans for a new battery factory at Opel in Kaiserslautern are also currently on hold, as we learn. And Volkswagen is only taking care of two of the six planned battery production facilities for the time being - the rest are still waiting for a decision on construction. Although the VW battery plant in Salzgitter is almost complete and is due to start production on one line this year, the second line is still in the decision-making phase. Everyone cites the high electricity prices and the flagging demand for electric cars as reasons for the slow progress. But at EU level, the 27 countries and the Commission are aiming to cover around 90 percent of battery requirements within the EU. However, a recent Fraunhofer study sees only a 50% chance of achieving the EU's target of 90% self-sufficiency by 2030. The researchers believe that a supply of at least 50 to 60 percent is realistic.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.