Northvolt raises $1.2 bn for market expansion; rolls out first BESS at Dwa

Northvolt has announced that it has raised $1.2 billion in convertible notes to finance plans for its further European and North American expansion. The latest development comes at the time when the company has assembled its first battery systems (BESS) at Northvolt Dwa facility in Poland. 

The funding is an extension of the $1.1 billion convertible note signed in July 2022, and is led by the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), BlackRock and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), as well as long-term financial partner OMERS, making its third major investment in Northvolt. 

The company has been producing battery systems at a small-scale facility located in Gdańsk since 2019. Northvolt Dwa is a the company's new built with support from the European Innovation Fund. 

With the final products getting rolled out, and final validation of production lines concluding, customer deliveries are expected to commence later in the year, the company adds. 

Peter Carlsson, Co-Founder and CEO of Northvolt, commented, "I'm proud to see our continued effort being recognized by investors, as we are receiving significant interest from capital markets to support our mission. The commitment to global decarbonization is strong, and these milestones reinforces our position to meet the massive demand for sustainable battery solutions both in Europe and North America."

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With the latest capital raise, Northvolt claims to have secured over $9 billion in equity and debt to deliver on over $55 billion in orders from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen Group. 

"We have found a committed group of investors that understands both the urgent need and massive financial potential in enabling the swift electrification of society. However, there is a long road ahead if Europe and North America are to reach their full potential as leaders of the energy transition. To create a pathway for global warming below 1.5°C, both the private and public sector need to mobilize resources at an unprecedented scale", said Alexander Hartman, CFO of Northvolt. 

Northvolt battery cells are currently designed and developed at Northvolt Labs in Västerå (Sweden) and Northvolt Cuberg (California) in US. The company has said that manufacturing is ramping up at Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden. 

The Ett facility will also be joined by an adjacent giga-scale recycling plant - Revolt Ett - due to start operations later this year. Additional projects are under development in Sweden, Germany and Portugal, the company adds.