Battery Maker Northvolt Misses Production Targets

Embattled Swedish battery start-up Northvolt has said it does not plan to meet a goal of producing 100,000 cells per week, as a Reuters report said it has been consistently missing internal production targets since early September.

The company, set up as part of a European Union plan to develop domestic competition against the overwhelming dominance of Chinese electric vehicle battery producers, has been producing around 20,000 shippable cells per week, according to internal documents cited in the report.

The figures are below internal targets and well below an internal target of 100,000 per week by the end of the year that was reported in late September.

The documents also show a target to reach 51,000 deliverable cells in one week by the end of 2024, a target that was reached only once in the period from the end of August to early November, the report said.

Reduced goals

In the week ending 21 October, the company delivered 22,000 shippable cells against a target of 30,000, according to the documents.

In the week ending 10 November the company assembled about 26,000 cells, the documents said.

The company confirmed it produced more than 20,000 shippable cells during that week and said it did not plan to meet the “informal” goal of 100,000 per week this year.

The firm said its plans were “currently under review” based on the execution of a strategic review that it publicly launched in July.

As part of the review Northvolt has made changes to customer orders and reduced shift patterns.

The firm said in September it had tripled its cell manufacturing levels since the start of the year.

Unnamed sources told Reuters the problems stemmed from faults with machines, inexperienced staff and unrealistic plans.

Northvolt said that its machines in serial production were delivering “very good levels of performance” and that its staff were the most experienced for any Europe-based battery manufacturer.

Reduced production

Production at one of the two manufacturing buildings in Northvolt’s main Skelleftea plant was suspended in late October, a stoppage expected to last until at least December, the report said.

The company moved to cut costs by ending its 24/7 production cycle on 11 November, manufacturing only on weekdays, the report said, a move confirmed by Northvolt.

The delays meant Northvolt lost a 2 billion euro (£1.7bn) contract with BMW in June, since which time it has been primarily producing for truck maker Scania as well as Volkswagen’s Audi and Porsche brands.

Scania’s deliveries of electric trucks have been hampered by the production delays in batteries from Northvolt, but it said in September it has been receiving batteries from the company on schedule after agreeing to a new delivery plan.

Northvolt has been internally discussing the possibility of bankruptcy protection in the United States as one of several options as it seeks to deal with its challenges.