Volvo Cars pauses battery factory after fruitless partner search / Photo: Tobias SCHWARZ - AFP
-
Physicians Urge Arizona to Ban Medical Gag Clauses and Enable Private Lawsuits
-
China Extends Tariff Suspension on US Imports to Stabilize Trade Ties
-
New Campaign Highlights Knowledge Gaps on Carbon Monoxide Safety Among Americans
-
JR East Launches 'teppay' to Integrate Suica Balance with Mobile Payments
-
GoodData.AI Launches the Agentic Serving Plane, a New Category of Enterprise Data Infrastructure for AI Agents
-
Securitas Healthcare Introduces a New Era of RTLS Built for the Future of Healthcare Operations
-
US Government Questions Effectiveness of Waymo’s School Bus Software Fix
-
First-time boat buyers advised to assess full ownership costs
-
Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium
-
Planning and preparation can reduce stress of interstate relocation
-
Sweet As app launches restaurant discovery platform
-
Two more arrested in Carrie Mullane suspected murder investigation
-
MLA seeks inquiry into reported sectarian gestures on Ormeau Road
-
Mayo school appeals for information after convent and chapel vandalism
-
Louise O’Reilly attacks Simon Harris over unemployment remarks
Volvo Cars pauses battery factory after fruitless partner search
Swedish automaker Volvo Cars said Tuesday that it was pausing operations at a battery factory under construction, dismissing all 75 workers there, after failing to find a partner for the business.
Volvo Cars, majority-owned by the Chinese conglomerate Geely, last year took full control of NOVO Energy, a subsidiary it had previously shared with Northvolt, a battery maker that went bankrupt in March.
Northvolt's failure, one of the biggest in Swedish corporate history, highlights the difficulties for EU battery producers facing by high costs and Chinese competition.
Last month, the EU Commission said it would provide 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion) to support the bloc's battery producers through interest-free loans.
NOVO Energy, founded in 2021, was to build a mega battery factory supplying Volvo Cars and Geely-owned Polestar.
But the business requires an external technology partner, which Volvo said it had failed to find after a search it started last year.
"Until a new technology partner is secured, NOVO Energy can no longer proceed with its operations as previously planned," Volvo Cars said. "As a result, NOVO Energy AB today announces layoffs that affect all positions in the company."
Volvo Cars said it maintained its "long-term ambition to produce batteries for its electric cars in the Gothenburg, Sweden, area".
But it said it was not possible to say when battery production could start, "or in what organisational structure this might happen".
E.Raimundo--PC
