Today in Sweden: Latest updates on Friday's headlines
In a significant move, US battery company Lyten has agreed to acquire the assets of the bankrupt Swedish start-up Northvolt, valued at approximately $5 billion. The acquisition includes 16 GWh of existing lithium-ion battery production capacity and over 15 GWh under construction across facilities in Sweden and Germany.
The deal, fully funded by equity investment, includes Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion in Skellefteå, Sweden, Northvolt Labs in Västerås, Sweden, and Northvolt Drei in Heide, Germany. Lyten plans to rehire much of the workforce that had previously been laid off and immediately restart operations at the Skellefteå and Västerås sites.
The acquired manufacturing capacity, currently totaling about 31 GWh combined, will support existing lithium-ion cell orders from Northvolt’s prior anchor customers. Lyten aims to leverage this capacity with potential growth to more than 100 GWh long-term, expanding its product portfolio beyond lithium-sulfur chemistry.
The acquisition positions Lyten as a major European battery manufacturer with substantial production and R&D capabilities previously held by Northvolt. This move aligns with Lyten’s strategy to expand its lithium-sulfur battery business while also serving the lithium-ion market, particularly in battery energy storage systems.
Meanwhile, in other news, the Swedish Life Saving Society's general secretary, Mikael Olausson, expressed concern over the statistics of drowning accidents in Sweden. July saw 30 people drown in Sweden, making it the worst month for drownings since July 2018. So far, 71 people have died of drowning this year, up from 55 in the same period of last year.
In a separate incident, a man in his 40s with a Swedish residence permit has been arrested by German police in the city of Wuppertal. The perpetrator is now suspected of terrorist crimes in Germany after allegedly entering a butcher's shop, grabbing a knife, and shouting "Allahu Akbar", injuring a passerby.
In the realm of housing, prices for detached houses rose in Gothenburg (0.7%) and Malmö (0.5%), while they fell in Greater Stockholm (2.9%). The record number of detached houses sold in Sweden in July was 4,200, according to Svensk Mäklarstatistik.
In the financial sector, Skandiabanken had the lowest variable interest rate, followed by Landshypotek with 2.76 percent. Ica Bank was the most expensive with a rate of 2.92 percent, followed by Swedbank with 2.9 and Nordea with 2.89 percent.
References:
- BBC News
- Reuters
- CNBC
- Business Insider
- The Verge
- The acquisition of Northvolt's assets by American battery company Lyten, worth approximately $5 billion, signifies a significant investment in the business sector, particularly real-estate and finance, as it involves facilities in Sweden and Germany.
- In a disturbing instance of crime-and-justice, a man with a Swedish residence permit was arrested by German police after allegedly committing a terrorist crime involving a knife in a butcher's shop in the city of Wuppertal.
- Despite the recent spike in general-news events such as terror incidents and drowning accidents, the housing market in certain areas of Sweden, like Gothenburg and Malmö, has shown signs of growth, with increases in detached house prices.
