Volvo and Northvolt have finalized their joint venture. The two companies signed a binding agreement with a total investment value of more than €2.9 billion. That money will be invested in a knowledge center and a battery factory, among other things.
The partnership between Volvo and Northvolt is not entirely new. Last June, the two companies announced their intention to set up a joint venture to build a battery factory and set up a knowledge center for battery development. So that deal is now complete. The research center in Gothenburg will open next year, the battery factory will be at a later stage. Volvo says the location for that battery factory is expected to be announced in early 2022. In 2026, the factory, which is good for a maximum production capacity of 50 GWh, should be operational.
With the joint venture, Volvo is securing the supply of batteries for the brand’s new generation of electric models. From 2030, Volvo only wants to sell purely electric cars. Northvolt will therefore definitely help the brand with this. Remarkably enough, the largest shareholder in Northvolt is Volkswagen, which is also working on a battery factory in collaboration with the Swedish battery manufacturer. Northvolt currently qualifies as a start-up, but plans to start producing batteries at its factory in northern Sweden this month. In any case, the confidence of the car manufacturers in the company promises a lot in advance.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl