Northvolt ramped up production of quality batteries before halting operations, former COO says

By Marie Mannes and Essi Lehto

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Bankrupt Swedish battery maker Northvolt had stepped up production of high-quality battery cells at its Skellefteå plant before operations were halted, a former executive said on Friday, a major factor in sealing a deal to sell the company.

Northvolt, once seen as Europe's answer to dominant Chinese battery manufacturers, filed for bankruptcy in March and ceased production in June after failing to secure a buyer in time.

U.S. battery startup Lyten said on Thursday it would buy most of Northvolt's assets, reviving hopes of a European battery champion.

Lyten CEO Dan Cook told Reuters this week that the quality delivered by Northvolt's management team - many of whom are expected to join Lyten - was a key factor behind the deal, and that as yields had already reached the 90% range, ramp up time was expected to be relatively short.

Northvolt's former Chief Operations Officer Matthias Arleth said at a press conference on Friday that the company had been producing up to 30,000 high-quality battery cells per week at Skellefteå. It was not clear what role, if any, Arleth will play going forward.

Reuters reported in November that Northvolt had missed internal targets for cells deemed good enough to be delivered to clients.

Gustaf Sundell, head of ventures and new business at truckmaker Scania, told Reuters on Thursday that the company had been satisfied with the quality of the Northvolt cells it eventually received. However, he said it was too early to determine whether Scania would place orders with Lyten.

PILING DEBTS

Northvolt's bankruptcy trustee Mikael Kubu said that many creditors would incur significant losses, without giving further details. The company's debt totalled around $8 billion.

Unsecured creditors include major shareholders Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen, whose brands Scania, Porsche and Audi, were among Northvolt's customers.

Lyten, a Silicon Valley battery startup developing lithium-sulphur cells as a cleaner alternative to lithium-ion, is backed by Jeep-owner Stellantis and U.S. delivery services provider FedEx.

The trustee said the acquisition of Swedish assets was expected to close by the end of October with "a bit more time" needed to close abroad.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes and Alessandro Parodi, writing by Essi Lehto and Alessandro Parodi, editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Kirsten Donovan)