Swedish Battery Developer Northvolt Produces its 1st Li-ion Cell

Northvolt, a Swedish battery developer and manufacturer that specializes in lithium-ion technology for electric vehicles, recently commissioned its Northvolt Ett gigafactory in northern Sweden, leading to the assembly of its first li-ion battery cell.

Marking a new chapter in European industrial history, the cell is the first to have been fully designed, developed and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company, said Northvolt.

The company has been pursuing its target of producing the first cell of Northvolt Ett since the gigafactory was announced in 2017. The cell is of a prismatic cell format and came off the cell assembly line on the 28th of December. Commissioning and upscaling of the factory will continue through into 2022, when the first commercial customer deliveries will be made.

Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, said, “Today is a great milestone for Northvolt which the team has worked very hard to achieve. Of course, this first cell is only the beginning. Over the course of the coming years, we look forward to Northvolt Ett expanding its production capacity greatly to enable the European transition to clean energy.”

The battery cell was developed at Northvolt Labs, Northvolt’s industrialization factory in Västerås, Sweden, which has been in production since early 2020. According to the company’s plan, In the coming years, production capacity at Northvolt Ett will increase towards 60 GWh per year to fulfill over $30 billion worth of contracts Northvolt has secured from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.

To these cus’l;k.,tomers in the automotive, industrial and energy storage sectors, Northvolt Ett will deliver cells of varying formats with commercial deliveries beginning in 2022, the company has said, adding, presently, Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå employs over 500 people, representing 56 nationalities.

Our mission is to build the greenest battery in the world with a minimal carbon footprint and the highest ambitions for recycling to enable the European transition to renewable energy, the company claims.