Northvolt will be in negotiations with Chinese battery manufacturers, including CATL, for a possible partnership aimed at finding a solution to the crisis affecting the Swedish electric vehicle battery company.
According to “Bloomberg,” which cites a Swedish newspaper, negotiations between the two companies have been ongoing since the summer, but the severe economic situation of Northvolt, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. last week, may have accelerated the urgency to find an Asian partner for the Swedish company.
It is worth noting that the Chinese company CATL currently holds a market share of nearly 40% of global electric vehicle battery sales.
Launched in 2015 by former Tesla executives, Northvolt opened a factory in northern Sweden with the goal of building next-generation batteries for electric vehicles using clean energy.
However, the decline in demand for electric vehicles, high production costs, and fierce Chinese competition have made battery production a challenge for Western companies.
According to “Bloomberg,” CATL sees growth potential in the European electric vehicle market and is in negotiations to establish battery recycling operations in the region.
Thus, a partnership with Northvolt could strengthen CATL’s position in Europe at a time when the Chinese brand is preparing to begin production in Hungary.
