Northvolt is ending its activities related to the development and production of energy storage facilities in Gdańsk – company representatives announced. As added, the company is looking for a buyer for the plant in this city.
Communication director of Northvolt Poland, Anna Sobolewska, informed that Northvolt ends part of its activities related to the development and production of energy storage facilities in Poland and Sweden. This means that the operations of the Northvolt factory at ul. Andruszkiewicza in Gdańsk, producing energy storage systems, will not be continued and the plant will be prepared for sale.
Talks are ongoing
As reported by the company, Northvolt is also in talks to sell the second part of the Northvolt Systems business unitwhich has been producing battery systems for industrial applications since 2018.
The sale will include business assets, technology, products and customer base, as well as a battery system prototyping plant located in Stockholm and a production plant that has been operating at ul. for 6 years. Elbląska in Gdańsk.
According to the company, the above decisions do not mean the complete exit of Northvolt from Poland.
The operation of the Business Scaling Center in Gdańsk will continue, providing services in the field of HR, IT, finance, purchasing and logistics for companies from the Northvolt group.
“Consequences” for employees
“Northvolt's decisions regarding Northvolt Systems result from the company's strategic review, which aims to simplify its organizational structure and focus on large-scale battery cell production. Unfortunately, the decision to end the energy storage business will have consequences for employees in Sweden and Poland“- informs Anna Sobolewska.
The president of Northvolt Poland, Robert Chryc-Gawrychowski, informs that although the company continues talks regarding the sale of the business of battery systems for industry, the company has made “a difficult decision to end the development and production of energy storage facilities.”
“Despite our efforts, we failed to find an investor for this part of the business and therefore the factory at ul. Andruszkiewicza in Gdańsk will be closed. Now the most important task is to support employees affected by this decision,” he said in a statement sent to PAP.
Northvolt also announced on Friday that it has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States. This will allow the company to gain access to new sources of financing and continue operations, while restructuring debt and adapting the business to the current needs of customers.
Additionally, the company announced that Peter Carlsson is stepping down as CEO, will assume an advisory role and will remain a member of the management board. Peter Carlsson has led Northvolt since its inception in 2016.
Northvolt Systems
Currently Northvolt Systems employs 269 employees in Sweden, 281 employees in factories in Poland and 64 people in the Business Scaling Center in Gdańsk. Northvolt is in talks with trade unions in Sweden and employee representatives in Poland regarding the sale of the industrial battery systems business and termination of the energy storage business.
Northvolt Systems was founded by Northvolt AB in 2018, with the intention of developing and producing battery systems for industrial customers and battery energy storage systems. Typically, entities operating in this market segment use cells from external suppliers.
Northvolt Systems has developed a portfolio of products based on cells made using lithium-ion technology, manufactured at plants in Gdańsk and delivered, among others, to such Northvolt customers as: Epiroc, Konecranes, Mecalac, Pon, Dynell.
Main photo source: PAP/Jan Dzban