Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.12-073331/https://www.ft.com/content/21dbc9fa-2503-4a1d-a14c-7ac2b6f44303
Battery maker Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, capping the downfall of a company once regarded as Europe’s best hope of competing in an industry dominated by China.
The Swedish industrial start-up, backed by the likes of Volkswagen, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, said on Wednesday that it had been unable to secure financing to continue and a court-appointed trustee would now sell off its assets.
“This is an incredibly difficult day for everyone at Northvolt. We set out to build something groundbreaking — to drive real change in the battery, EV and wider European industry and accelerate the transition to a green and sustainable future,” said Tom Johnstone, Northvolt’s interim chair.
It marks an ignominious end to a company that took in about $15bn from investors and governments in a technology crucial for electric vehicles where Europe is playing catch-up to Asian countries such as China, Japan and South Korea.
This is a developing story
The conspiracy on this has been for several years that the chinese made machines that are used in the plant was deliberately configured wrong so that when northvolt finally goes in the drain, the chinese that made those machines will just buy everything and start usung them as they are already doing in their domestic market. So far, this theory is now on step 2. Lets see if they start buying it up as well.
Just asked Mistral Le Chat about this, here’s the reply:
*"There is evidence suggesting that Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer, faced significant issues with the machinery supplied by Chinese companies. According to various sources, Northvolt relied heavily on Chinese machinery and personnel to operate it. This reliance led to several problems, including incomplete documentation for the equipment, which made it difficult for Northvolt to operate the machinery effectively without the direct involvement of Chinese technicians.
Additionally, there were speculations about potential sabotage, as certain components within the machinery appeared to be remotely controllable, and there were allegations of defective equipment provided by the Chinese supplier Wuxi Lead. These issues, combined with Northvolt’s internal management problems and rapid expansion, contributed to the company’s financial struggles and eventual bankruptcy filing."*
sources given (excluding reddit)
[https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/european-battery-champion-northvolt-files-for-bankruptcy/]
[https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/northvolts-struggles-cautionary-tale-eu-clean-industrial-deal]
[https://thedeepdive.ca/did-china-sabotage-northvolt-unraveling-the-crisis-behind-swedens-battery-giant/]
Sounds like enough material for a 3 hour youtube documentary