Company to gain foothold in Europe as the West tries cut China out of the ion battery supply chain.
Silicon Valley startup Lyten will acquire Northvolt Dwa in Poland to expand its lithium-sulfur technology into Europe, as the continent seeks alternatives to Chinese-controlled supply chains.
Scandinavian electric vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturer Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in March, in one of the biggest bankruptcies in Swedish corporate history.
On June 1, Lyten said the Northvolt acquisition accelerates the expansion of its lithium-sulfur batteries into Europe and provides it with production capacity.
According to Northvolt’s 2023 annual report, the facility enables the production of energy storage systems at a scale previously unheard of in Europe. Europe is mainly dependent on China for its batteries, from materials to production.
Over the past three decades, Beijing has maintained a grip on the production and manufacturing of every component of battery cells, the current lithium-ion batteries that are integral to modern society.
U.S.-based Lyten, which produces lithium-sulfur technology, has a battery, which it says eliminates the need for foreign-sourced critical minerals such as nickel and cobalt, which are dominated by Chinese supply chains.
“We plan to immediately restart operations in Poland and deliver on existing and new customer orders,” Dan Cook, Lyten CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.
The European Union had tried to break its reliance on China and pinned its hopes on battery manufacturer Northvolt to light the way.
Founded by former Tesla executives, Northvolt aimed to be a European-owned gigafactory, producing lithium-ion cells at scale, and to capture 25 percent of Europe’s battery market by 2030.
Lithium-ion batteries, used in a huge range of electronic devices, from smartphones to laptops, are also the dominant power source for EVs, due to their high energy density, lightweight design, and ability to be recharged.
However, the capital-intensive process of assembling them proved too complex in Europe.
On March 12, Northvolt announced that after an “exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future,” it had filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.
This followed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Northvolt’s U.S. subsidiary in California in August 2024, citing mounting losses and persistent production issues.
By Owen Evans
