Swedish battery maker Northvolt files for bankruptcy as cash runs out

12/3/2025 17:03

Northvolt, the Swedish battery cell maker for electric vehicles, said on Wednesday it had filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, one of the country's largest and ending Europe's best hope of developing a rival to major Asian EV battery players.



Northvolt sought U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November as its cash pile dwindled, in a bid to secure funds to fix persistent problems in boosting output at its flagship plant in northern Sweden.



"The company was unable to secure the necessary financial conditions to continue in its current form," the group, which has over 5,000 employees, said in a statement.



At the end of January, its debt stood at more than $8 billion across the nine Northvolt entities in the Chapter 11 process, documents have shown.



A court-appointed trustee will now oversee the bankruptcy process, which will include the sale of its assets and settling its outstanding obligations as far as possible.



The bankruptcy is one of the biggest in Swedish corporate history and the most high-profile one since that of now-defunct carmaker Saab Automobile more than a decade ago.