Montreal Battery Plant Builder Northvolt Could Be Looking At Bankruptcy Protection: Report

• Company has had tough year including major contract cancellations

• Made large workforce cuts in September

An EV battery company with manufacturing plans for Canada may be filing for bankruptcy protection. A new report from Reuters says that the Swedish company Northvolt has been discussing the possibility after the loss of a major customer and other issues.

Northvolt has battery production facilities throughout Europe, including multiple sites in Sweden, and one in Poland. It is also in the middle of construction on a factory near Montreal that is set to produce batteries for one million vehicles per year. The site was expected to begin operations in 2026 and would also have a plant to recycle end-of-life packs and cells.

Recently, the Quebec government has been under fire over loans to the plant. In September, Northvolt announced layoffs of 1,600 workers in Sweden. At the time it said that the Quebec project remained a priority and that plans were continuing though it could be delayed as much as two years..

BMW canceled a $2.15 billion contract with Northvolt in June of this year. Reports said that Northvolt would not be able to deliver on the deal, which was signed in 2020. However, at the time, the two were set to continue to work toward next-generation cells.

The Reuters report said that talks to raise more short-term funding have become more difficult. A spokesperson declined to comment on the Chapter 11 filing possibility but said that “Since the beginning of the strategic review, we have constantly been discussing different options, and that hasn’t changed throughout the process.”