Battery maker Northvolt to shift R&D from California to Sweden

STOCKHOLM -- Battery maker Northvolt will consolidate and shift development of lithium-metal battery technology to its R&D hub in Vasteras, Sweden, from California.

The decision comes as the company carries out a strategic review to refocus its expansion plans after experiencing a series of setbacks such as production delays and a customer canceling an €2 billion order.

"The transfer reflects a strategic move to consolidate the R&D and industrialization of Northvolt's cell product portfolio ... into one location," the company said in a statement on Aug. 20.

BMW said in June that it had canceled its €2 billion order with Northvolt for battery cells.

Northvolt acquired California battery technology company Cuberg in 2021, a 25-staffer operation that has since grown to over 200 and focused on developing lithium-metal battery technology.

The move will result in Cuberg being closed down, the battery maker confirmed to Reuters, and said the shift would yield cost reductions, but declined to disclose how much savings it expected to achieve.

All employees at Cuberg will be laid off. The company said it encouraged the workers to apply for open positions in other arms of Northvolt.

Automakers and other manufacturers have for some time looked to source batteries away from China, with Northvolt considered by many as a pioneer in battery cell production in Europe.

Northvolt currently makes its batteries at a factory in northern Sweden.

In addition to the R&D move, the strategic review underway is expected to address expansion changes.

In July, Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson told Swedish business daily Dagens Industri that it would need to focus on making sure its blueprint factory in Skelleftea, Sweden was working first and foremost.

This could result in a halt or delay of its other plans, which include expansions in Sweden as well as gigafactories in Germany and Canada.

"We have been a little too aggressive in our expansion plans and that is what we are now reviewing," Carlsson told the paper in July.