Advanced materials company Lyten announced an agreement to buy most of the key assets of bankrupt EV battery company Northvolt, with plans to restart operations and to continue the expansion of battery manufacturing capacity, citing opportunities beyond electric vehicles, including providing energy solutions for data centers.
The agreement, which follows previous Northvolt asset acquisitions by Lyten, include the Northvolt Ett gigafactory in Northern Sweden, and its expansion project, Ett expansion, the Northvolt Labs battery innovation campus, also in Sweden, as well as the Germany-based gigafactory project Northvolt Drei, and all of Northvolt’s remaining intellectual property.
The acquisition includes 16 GWh of existing battery manufacturing capacity, more than 15 GWh of capacity under construction, as well as infrastructure and plans to scale to more than 100 GWh. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Lyten noted that the assets were previously valued at approximately $5 billion.
Stockholm-based Northvolt announced in March that it had filed for bankruptcy, marking a major downfall for one of the most ambitious endeavors to establish a European EV battery giant. Founded in 2016, Northvolt was established with a goal to develop the “world’s greenest battery,” targeting a minimal carbon footprint, sustainable sourcing of raw materials and recycling. The company raised over $14 billion in capital, but faced a series of challenges, including a significant downshift in EV demand in Europe, as well as rising capital costs, geopolitical instability and supply chain disruptions.
Lyten has previously announced agreements to acquire Northvolt’s Cuberg battery manufacturing facility in California in November 2024, and Northvolt Dwa, Europe’s largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) manufacturing facility, located in Gdansk, Poland, in July 2024, and last month, the company announced the acquisition of the Northvolt Dwa Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) product portfolio in Stockholm.
Lyten said that it plans to immediately restart operations at Northvolt Ett and Labs upon close of the transaction, and that it is working with the German government to continue the program to establish a battery manufacturing facility with 15 GWh of initial capacity. The company added that collaboration with Northvolt’s prior anchor customers is progressing constructively, and that it plans to rehire a significant portion of the previously laid-off workforce at the acquired facilities, while multiple members of the current Northvolt executive team plan to join Lyten as well.
Additionally, Lyten said that it is committed to pursuing the acquisition of Northvolt Six in Quebec, Canada, which is constructing a 15 GWh battery manufacturing facility, with active discussions progressing with Northvolt North America, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, and other stakeholders.
Lyten said that the new acquisition is being fully funded through equity investment into the company from private investors, and that it expects the acquisitions to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to government approvals.
Dan Cook, Lyten CEO and Co-Founder, said:
“This is a defining moment for Lyten. Lyten’s mission is to be the leading supplier of clean, locally sourced and manufactured batteries and energy storage systems in both North America and Europe. The acquisition of Northvolt’s assets brings the facilities and Swedish talent to accelerate this mission by years, just at the moment when demand for Lyten lithium-sulfur batteries is growing exponentially to meet energy independence, national security, and AI data center needs.”
