Northvolt, Volvo joint venture Novo Energy pauses operations – lays off all employees

Novo Energy was previously jointly owned by Northvolt and Volvo Cars. The original plan was to build a gigafactory employing around 3,000 people, capable of supplying batteries for up to half a million cars a year.

That plan has not panned out. After Northvolt went bankrupt, Volvo Cars took over its stake and became the sole owner. Since then, the company has been searching for a new technology partner – so far without success.

According to Novo Energy, it cannot continue with the project as planned until such a partner is secured. As a result, all 75 employees at the Torslanda factory near Gothenburg have now been given redundancy notices.

"While Volvo Cars continues to search for a new technology partner, it is currently not possible to share further details about when battery production could start, or in what organisational structure this might happen," Novo Energy said in a press statement.

Northvolt and Volvo are believed to have poured over €1bn into Novo Energy. In November, the startup also received a €201m grant from the EU's Innovation Fund.