Northvolt, a Swedish producer of lithium-ion batteries, has raised round $1.2 billion from BlackRock and numerous Canadian pension plans to construct new factories in North America and Europe, in accordance with report from Reuters.
Tuesday’s announcement alerts the primary time Northvolt has shared concrete plans to construct in North America. If Northvolt builds within the U.S., it’ll have the ability to reap the benefits of authorities incentives featured in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Discount Act (IRA). A spread of automakers and battery makers — from Hyundai and Stellantis to Panasonic and SK Innovation — have within the final two years introduced plans to construct EV battery factories within the U.S. or Canada.
The U.S.’s landmark local weather laws has created an arms race with the European Union, as many corporations select the U.S.’s carrots over the EU’s sticks and spend money on battery manufacturing throughout the pond.
Northvolt didn’t say the place it would construct in North America, however sources instructed Reuters the corporate is near finalizing plans to construct a multi-billion greenback manufacturing unit in Canada, which might be introduced later this 12 months. The corporate already has a facility in California, the place it’s creating next-generation lithium-metal cell know-how to energy electrical aviation.
Northvolt didn’t reply to TechCrunch to substantiate its manufacturing unit plans in North America, nor its intentions for growth in Europe.
Most of Northvolt’s exercise has been in Sweden — the corporate has a gigafactory in Skellefteå and is constructing one other in Gothenburg in partnership with Volvo. The battery maker can also be constructing a battery plant in Germany and an power storage manufacturing unit in Poland.
BlackRock was joined in main the $1.2 billion convertible be aware spherical by Canada Pension Plan, Ontario Municipal Workers Retirement System and pension investor Funding Administration Company of Ontario, which had invested $400 million in Northvolt in June.
Individuals within the spherical included Goldman Sachs, Volkswagen, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank Robur, Singapore’s GIC and Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
The newest spherical brings Northvolt’s whole funding to $9 billion in debt and fairness since 2017, together with $1.1 billion in convertible notes final 12 months. The corporate has additionally secured over $55 billion in orders from clients like BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo and Volkswagen.
Convertible notes can convert into fairness at a later date, and lots of corporations elevate any such short-term debt earlier than submitting for an preliminary public providing. The robust curiosity from heavy-hitter traders suggests a confidence in Northvolt’s potential to develop and finally go public at a excessive valuation.
Whereas Northvolt has not shared plans to go public, Reuters reported in February, citing sources, that the corporate was certainly making ready for an IPO at a $20 billion valuation.