As per ESG Today, the loan was provided by a consortium that includes 23 commercial banks, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is supported by the European Commission’s InvestEU program. The program supports sustainable innovation and development, as well as the creation of jobs across Europe.
Northvolt is a Swedish company founded back in 2016 with the purpose to create the world's "greenest battery", the main objectives being a minimal carbon footprint, as well as sustainable sourcing of raw materials and recycling of end-of-life cells.
So far, the company received orders from big names in the automotive industry, such as BMW, Volvo Cars and the Volkswagen Group, all amounting to 55 billion USD.
Revolt Ett is the company's recycling plant, specialized in recovering battery-grade metals for new cells, with a carbon footprint 70% lower than raw materials. The 5 billion USD investment will go towards improving both the manufacturing plant, as well as the recycling unit, so that capacities can be expanded.
Peter Carlsson, Co-Founder and CEO of Northvolt, said that "this financing is a milestone for the European energy transition. It will enable us to realize the full potential of Northvolt Ett and demonstrates that circular, sustainable business practices are fundamental to success in today’s industry."
Recently, Northvolt also announced that it will build its Northvolt Drei battery plant in Germany, a facility first announced back in 2022. Scheduled to go into operation in 2026, it could have an annual capacity of 60 GWh, enough to power one million EVs.
Northvolt will invest around 4.5 billion euros over the next years to make this factory a reality, as reported by Electrive, which could lead to the creation of 3.000 jobs.
A 900 million euros state aid was recently granted by the European Commission to assist with building the facility. The recent investments received by Northvolt put the company on a total of 31 billion USD in equity and debt to continue its expansion in Europe and the US, where future sustainable batteries are to be manufactured.
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