Swedish battery firm Northvolt is shutting down a research and development facility working on lithium-metal batteries in California and moving all development work to its R&D hub in Vasteras, Sweden, the company said Tuesday.
Northvolt had been conducting some development work on lithium-metal battery technology—an alternative to the currently prevalent lithium-ion chemistry—through Cuberg, a wholly-owned subsidiary in the San Francisco Bay Area the company acquired in 2021.
Rendering of Northvolt Six battery factory in Quebec, Canada
In what the company calls a "strategic move," Northvolt plans to move the lithium-metal development work to Sweden, where it will continue alongside research projects into other battery chemistries, including lithium-ion and sodium-ion.
"By centralizing our efforts, we are better equipped to deliver the next generation of energy solutions to meet the growing demands of the global market," Northvolt chief development officer Sami Haikala said in a statement.
Artist's impression of Volvo and Northvolt battery plant planned for Gothenburg, Sweden
Northvolt in June lost a BMW battery contract valued at roughly $2 billion, after reportedly failing to deliver batteries on time. The contract specified that Northvolt would start making batteries for BMW this year. The company also announced a joint-venture battery plant with Volvo in 2022 that's expected to make batteries for an upcoming all-electric version of the Volvo XC60 SUV. That plant is scheduled to open in 2025 and aims to make enough batteries to supply 500,000 EVs annually.
Northvolt currently makes batteries in Europe exclusively, but in 2023 announced a $5.2 billion Canadian EV battery plant, to open by 2026. The plant's Canadian location checks one of the boxes for qualification for the revamped federal EV tax credit under new rules enacted by the Biden administration.
