Northvolt, a Swedish car battery maker, has raised $1 billion in cash to finance the construction of Europe’s biggest car battery manufacturing facility.
German automaker Volkswagen (VW) and BMW will be one of Northvolt’s primary investors, though neither company disclosed how much VW had committed to financing.
Construction of the plant in Skellefteå in northern Sweden would begin in August.
The plant is one of Sweden’s biggest industrial projects in decades and will play an integral part in European efforts to compete with rivals such as CATL, Samsung, Tesla, and LG Chem, which are leaders in the battery market after locking in supply deals with carmakers, reported Reuters.
Northvolt also has plans to build a second gigafactory in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is a 50/50 joint venture between VW and the firm. It will start making battery cells for VW from late 2023 or early 2024.