Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has raised $1.2bn to fund its expansion plans in Europe and North America. The funding is an extension of a $1.1bn convertible note signed in July 2022 and has attracted investment from funds labelled "dark green" in accordance with the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, BlackRock, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and OMERS are among the investors. Northvolt has also assembled its first energy storage system products at its facility in Gdańsk, Poland, with customer deliveries expected to begin later this year.
As Northvolt assembles its first battery systems at Northvolt Dwa in Poland, the company today announced the raising of $1.2 billion to finance plans for its further European and North American expansion.
The funding is an extension of the $1.1 billion convertible note signed in July 2022, and has attracted investment from funds labeled dark green in accordance with Article 9 of the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Leading the extension are 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 the company.
In parallel, Northvolt Dwa has assembled its first energy storage system (ESS) products in Gdańsk, Poland as part of its commissioning process. Producing battery systems at a small-scale facility located in Gdańsk since 2019, Northvolt has built a new 25,000 square meter plant that assembles cells into battery systems for customers in energy storage and industrial markets, with support from the European Innovation Fund. As final validation of production lines concludes, customer deliveries are expected to commence later in the year.
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.”
The $2.3 billion convertible round raised to date includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management, AP funds 1-4 (via the co-owned company 4 to 1 Investments), Folksam Group, ATP, Volkswagen Group, AMF, Ava Investors, IMAS Foundation, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank Robur, PCS Holding, Olympia Group, TM Capital, Compagnia di San Paolo through Fondaco Growth, East Innovate, ADQ, GIC, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and J. Safra Sarasin. With this capital raise, Northvolt has now 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.
Alexander Hartman, CFO of Northvolt, commented: “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.”
Northvolt battery cells are currently designed and developed at Northvolt Labs in Västerås, Sweden, and Northvolt Cuberg in San Leandro, California, US. Battery cell manufacturing is ramping up at Northvolt Ett gigafactory, in Skellefteå, Sweden, which will 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.
Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, J.P. Morgan SE, and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc act as joint placement agents to Northvolt.