Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is heading for bankruptcy. Investors risk losing 38 billion kroner. Much of the money comes from Denmark.
Northvolt, the Swedish manufacturer of batteries for electric cars, is facing bankruptcy, which has caused great concern among investors.
If the company goes bankrupt, lenders and investors risk losing 38 billion kroner. Northvolt is already under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.
In this way, the company has so far maintained a permanent closure from the door. However, the crisis has already cost founder and director Peter Carlsson his job.
According to information from the company's latest financial statements, Northvolt will have cash expenses of DKK 2.2 billion during the course of a quarter.
This is reported by Swedish Radio .
At the same time, the turnover is only around 330 million kroner. This means that the company has burned through almost 2 billion kroner in just three months.
Right now, the situation is that Northvolt will run out of money within 10 weeks if additional loans or investments cannot be obtained.
Some of those who will have to wave goodbye to a huge investment if Northvolt closes are the Danish pension fund ATP, to which virtually all wage earners pay.
In a new interview with DR, the director admits that the pension fund has lost billions of kroner on Northvolt. Money that will never come back if the battery factory goes under.
If Northvolt is to survive, it will require a significant capital injection; the question is whether there are enough risk-averse investors.
Crucial decisions about financing must be made within the coming months to avoid actual bankruptcy.
However, the battery manufacturer is not the only one in the European automotive industry that is having a hard time. After layoffs and a company closure in Denmark, it has emerged that German Bosch will lay off an additional 10,000 employees to rectify the economy.
At Volkswagen, which is also the largest investor in Northvolt, management believes that the closure of several factories in Germany is imperative to save the car brand's finances. The subsidiary Audi has already decided to close a factory. This will cost 3,000 people their jobs.
