Northvolt EV Battery Has Just Been Given A Lifeline by LYTEN
Remember Europe’s claimed biggest electric vehicle battery producer? It was called Northvolt and due to various internal reasons it went out of business.
Fact …… Northvolt failed due to an overambitious, rapid expansion that resulted in catastrophic production delays, poor manufacturing quality and severe financial strain.
A critical USD2 billion contract loss from BMW due to these delays, combined with high operational costs and a slowing European EV market, forced the company into bankruptcy.
Northvolt’s primary customers at the time included major European automotive manufacturers such as Volkswagen Group (including Audi and Porsche), Scania, Volvo Cars, and Polestar which was valued at USD55 Billion. The company also partnered with energy storage system provider Fluence. However, production struggles led to the cancellation of a key €2 billion BMW contract in 2024.
The flagship Skellefteå gigafactory failed to scale up, producing only ~1 GWh instead of the planned 16 GWh. High defect rates and faulty cells led to major customer losses, including BMW.
The company tried to do too much at once, including producing different battery types (prismatic/cylindrical), recycling, lithium refining, and building multiple factories (Sweden, Germany, Canada) simultaneously.
Despite raising billions, the company lost ~€100 million per month by late 2023. The loss of confidence from investors, partly due to the BMW cancellation and leadership changes, cut off cash flow.
Reports indicated a lack of transparency, rapid hiring leading to confusion, and high-pressure work conditions, causing, according to a Medium article and Sifted article, a lack of accountability.
Northvolt filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in 2025 to restructure after experiencing these compounding issues.
News of Northvolts Resurrection By Lyten
US-based lithium-sulfur battery manufacturer Lyten has completed the acquisition of bankrupt Swedish battery maker Northvolt’s core Swedish assets, including the Northvolt Ett gigafactory and Labs facility, with plans to restart production in 2026. The deal, valued at nearly $5 billion, aims to rehire workers and restart operations in Skellefteå and Västerås.
Lyten acquired Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion in Skellefteå, and Northvolt Labs in Västerås, which include 16 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity.
Production of lithium-sulfur battery cells is scheduled to resume in the second half of 2026. Lyten plans to rehire most of the previously laid-off employees at the Swedish sites.
Lyten intends to combine the acquired manufacturing capacity with its own technology to serve European and North American markets, establishing a “Lyten Industrial Hub” in Skellefteå.
Lyten has also moved to acquire other Northvolt assets, including the Cuberg facility in California (completed in 2024), a BESS manufacturing facility in Poland, and is working to advance the Northvolt Drei plant in Germany.
Lyten intends to continue engaging with stakeholders regarding Northvolt’s unfinished projects, including the planned facility in Canada.
PRESS RELEASE: SAN JOSE, Calif., and STOCKHOLM, Sweden – February 27, 2026 – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Lyten, a global leader in lithium-sulfur batteries and energy storage, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion (Skellefteå, Sweden) and Northvolt Labs (Västerås, Sweden). The Northvolt Sweden acquisition includes 16 GWh of existing battery manufacturing capacity, more than 160 hectares of land, infrastructure and buildings to support expanded manufacturing and industrial activities, and the largest and most advanced battery research and development center in Europe.
Lyten additionally announced the formation of the Lyten Industrial Hub, located in Skellefteå, at the Northvolt Ett site. The industrial hub will utilize the infrastructure built by Northvolt and access to abundant, clean hydro power to co-locate battery manufacturing with AI data centers and complimentary industrial operations of strategic importance to Sweden and the European Union. Lyten plans to utilize its batteries and energy storage systems as part of the industrial hub’s infrastructure.
EdgeConneX, a leading global developer of data centers and a portfolio company of EQT, plans to acquire a data center site from Lyten in Skellefteå. The site has potential to scale to a one gigawatt data center campus, which would be one of the largest data center facilities in Europe.
