The entrance to Northvolt Six, the site where Northvolt had planned to build a giant battery-cell factory, to the east of Montreal in 2024.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Lyten Inc., an American developer of lithium-sulfur batteries, is buying the entirety of Northvolt AB’s remaining assets in Europe and says it also wants to take over the site for a future battery-cell megafactory in Quebec.
The San Jose, Calif.-based startup said Thursday that it had struck a binding deal to buy Northvolt’s remaining assets in Sweden and Germany following the European company’s bankruptcy earlier this year. The agreement includes Northvolt’s main manufacturing plant and research site in Sweden as well as land for a future plant in Germany, Lyten said in a statement.
Lyten said it is also committed to pursuing the acquisition of Northvolt Six, the site where Northvolt had planned to build a giant battery-cell factory in the greater Montreal region with financial backing from the Quebec and Canadian governments.
The Silicon Valley startup is “far along” in talks with local and federal authorities, as well as other stakeholders, toward purchasing that asset, according to Keith Norman, Lyten’s chief marketing officer. He added that “multiple agreements” are already in place. Northvolt Six was controlled by subsidiary Northvolt North America and was not part of the bankruptcy process.
Swedish EV battery maker Northvolt files for bankruptcy, putting Quebec plant plans in doubt
Quebec Economy Minister Christine Fréchette said Thursday on X that government officials will meet with company representatives to hear what they’re proposing. “Quebec has levers to frame or refuse the purchase of the Quebec portion of Northvolt,” she wrote.
Lyten’s deal rekindles hopes for the Quebec project, which many had given up for dead when Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in March after failing to secure new funding. A wave of Northvolt’s senior executives in the province have left in recent months and construction at the site, straddling the towns of Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, has long been halted.
At $7-billion, Northvolt Six had been trumpeted as the largest private-sector investment in Quebec history when it was announced two years ago. The project was a key pillar in Premier François Legault’s industrial strategy to make the province a global hub for electric-vehicle battery production and development.
That strategy has come under significant fire from opposition parties and critics for its failures in recent months, not only because Northvolt could not deliver on its ambitions, but also because of the insolvency of local bus maker Lion Electric. Both companies benefited from government financing.
The Montreal Economic Institute, a free-market think tank, estimates that in 2024 alone, Quebec lost more than $515-million subsidizing companies that are now insolvent. It has called for an end to such largesse, saying the province could attract more investment by introducing a corporate tax cut that would benefit all businesses.
Others argue that a strategy of targeted public support to certain sectors will help build the scale and expertise required to cement job growth and tax revenue.
Karen Chang, interim CEO of Northvolt North America, said the company is encouraged by Lyten’s interest in the site.
“It underscores the promising foundations established through the Northvolt project and Quebec’s potential role in the growth of the North American battery ecosystem,” she said in a separate statement.
Quebec made a $270-million investment in the Northvolt parent company that is now lost and earmarked a block of hydroelectricity for the project that remains available. It also lent the battery maker another $240-million to help it buy land for the factory, a loan secured by the property as collateral.
The federal government committed up to $1.34-billion to help Northvolt build the first phase of the plant but hasn’t yet disbursed any funds. Major pension funds in Canada were also left exposed and have written down their investments.
Lyten’s new deal builds on three other purchases it has made recently of Northvolt assets. Last November, it bought Northvolt’s Cuberg battery making facility in California. In early July, it announced the acquisition of Northvolt DWA, a major battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing plant in Gdansk, Poland. Late last month, it also bought Northvolt’s BESS product and intellectual property portfolio.
The new assets being bought as part of Thursday’s announcement were previously valued at US$5-billion but Lyten likely obtained them at a significant discount. No financial details were disclosed.
Lyten said it plans to immediately restart operations of Northvolt’s Skelleftea factory in Sweden and that it plans to rehire a significant portion of workers that were laid off, a development hailed by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister as “a win.” The company said its purchase is being funded by equity investments into Lyten from private investors.
Lyten currently produces lithium-sulfur batteries in Silicon Valley and sells commercially into the drone and defence markets. In its statement, the company said it is also preparing to launch batteries onto the International Space Station in the coming months.