Sweden’s young battery powerhouse and Volkswagen partner Northvolt has made a new client in the construction business. Pon Equipment, the Caterpillar dealer for Norway and the Netherlands, orders 90 battery systems from Northvolt for electric excavators, which select customers receive this Spring.

Volkswagen has just presented its technology roadmap for the battery and charging sectors up to 2030 at its Power Day presentation. The aim of the roadmap is to significantly reduce the complexity and costs of batteries. At the core of the plan are six “Gigafactories” throughout Europe.

Sweden’s battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Northvolt acquired the US startup Cuberg to commercialise longer-range Lithium-metal batteries. Existing clients include Boeing and electric aviation startups, while Northvolt also plans an R&D centre in California.

Micromobility provider Tier and battery manufacturer Northvolt have formed a partnership. The aim is to improve the sustainability of electric scooter batteries and their raw material requirements, as well as improving sustainability by means of battery swapping stations and recycling.

Hydrovolt has started construction of a battery recycling plant in Fredrikstad, Norway. The newly founded joint venture between the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt and the Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro says the plant will be operational at the end of 2021.

The European Commission has approved a second project under EU state aid rules to support research and innovation in the battery value chain. Several German companies will benefit from this, but also Tesla.

The Swedish companies Northvolt and Cake have entered into a long-term partnership to supply sustainable battery cells for electric motorcycles. The aim is to bring various Cake models with Northvolt battery cells to market from the first half of 2022.

Panasonic has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the energy company Equinor and the industrial group Norsk Hydro to explore the possibilities for building a “sustainable and cost-effective European battery business” for electric vehicles, likely in Norway.

Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle brand Scania has announced that it will invest over one billion Swedish kroner (around 100 million euros) in the construction of a battery assembly plant next to its chassis assembly plant in Södertälje, Sweden.

Northvolt has put its first battery system into operation at a public charging station for electric cars in Västerås, Sweden, in cooperation with the local energy supplier Mälarenergi.

The Swedish startup Einride has introduced the next generation of its autonomous electric truck T-Pod, making it commercially available worldwide for the first time. The company is relying on a subscription model for this. Initial customers include Lidl Sweden, Oatly, Bridgestone and Northvolt.

Northvolt has raised $600 million (€513 Mn) from new and existing investors to enable the Swedish battery cell manufacturer to expand its production and recycling capacity and research and development activities.

The German government will support the financing of Northvolt’s battery cell factory in Sweden with a state guarantee of 443 million euros as part of the federal foreign trade promotion programme.

Northvolt has taken out further loans of 1.6 billion US dollars with a number of banks to finance its planned battery cell factories. In total, Northvolt has thus secured over 3 billion dollars.

The BMW Group has signed a long-term supply contract for battery cells with the Swedish company Northvolt. The deal is worth two billion euros. Northvolt will start manufacturing the cells in 2024 in its Gigafactory in Skellefteå, currently under construction.

The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt and the Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro announce the formation of a joint venture to enable the recycling of battery materials and aluminium from electric vehicles in the Norwegian market.

The joint venture between the Volkswagen Group and Sweden’s battery manufacturer Northvolt is taking shape. The partners have now decided that the buildings and infrastructure for the planned joint battery cell factory ‘Northvolt Zwei’ will be built by Volkswagen itself.

Northvolt has delivered its most significant order of battery systems to Epiroc. The mining company will integrate the Li-ion cells into its mid-sized drilling family. The order represents the first commercial roll-out of Northvolt’s latest generation of the battery system, the Swedes said.

Experts from seven European countries are now working on solutions for next-generation lithium-ion batteries in the SeNSE research project within the European Battery Alliance. The Swedish company Northvolt is to play a decisive role in the four-year project.

Volkswagen and Northvolt want to increase the capacity of their battery cell factory in Salzgitter, Germany, by 50 per cent. The joint venture plans to submit the building application for the already planned expansion in March.

ABB will deliver the power supply infrastructure from the local grid to the production facilities for Northvolt’s planned battery cell factory in Skellefteå, Sweden. This is not Northvolt’s first collaboration with the Swiss-Swedish group.

The Swedish company Northvolt, managed by former Tesla manager Peter Carlsson, will dedicate itself not only to the planned mass production of battery cells but also to recycling them with the Revolt programme now presented.

Northvolt’s plans to build capacity for the production of battery cells in Europe appear to be more extensive than previously stated. The planned production capacity is to increase significantly – also with new partners.

The Volkswagen-Northvolt cooperation is taking off as they launch a first pilot production for battery cells at Volkswagen’s Salzgitter plant. Production is to scale up to 16 GWh at the end of 2023 with Volkswagen investing around €1Bn.

Volkswagen wants to use financial support and the establishment of joint ventures to persuade battery cell suppliers to produce sufficient energy storage systems for the Group’s electrical offensive at a faster pace. Many suppliers remain hesitant.

Chinese battery cell manufacturer CATL has decided to increase the investment in its planned factory in Erfurt by a factor of 7.5: Instead of the originally planned 240 million euros, 1.8 billion euros are now earmarked for the German location.

Canadian battery developer Nano One Materials has signed an agreement with an unnamed international OEM. Nano One is working on a research project with Volkswagen, among others.

Volkswagen is investing 900 million euros in the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt. Part of the sum is earmarked for a planned joint venture between the two companies, another part goes directly to Northvolt.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced their principle agreement to support the financing of Northvolt’s planned battery factory for the production of lithium-ion cells in Skellefteå, Sweden, with a loan of 350 million euros.

The partner for Volkswagen’s decision to start mass production of battery cells for electric cars will not be the South Korean manufacturer SK Innovation as was rumoured. Rather, the German carmaking giant is turning to the Swedish startup Northvolt for all its battery requirements.