US Company Lyten Eyes Purchase of Northvolt Battery Facility in Quebec

U.S. chemical manufacturing firm Lyten has announced its tentative plans to acquire Northvolt’s Quebec battery plant project.

The news comes the same day that the California-based company announced it was entering into a deal to buy Northvolt’s assets in Sweden and Germany.

The acquisition includes the Northvolt Ett, Ett Expansion, and Northvolt Labs facilities located in Sweden, Northvolt Drei in Germany, and all of Northvolt’s remaining intellectual property. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Next in Lyten’s sights is the Northvolt Six project in the Montérégie region of Quebec. The $7 billion lithium-ion battery manufacturing complex is expected to be built between Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, 30 kilometres southeast of Montreal. 

“Lyten is actively progressing discussions with Northvolt North America, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec and other key local stakeholders,” the company said in the same release announcing its acquisition of the Swedish and German assets.

Construction of the factory was supposed to begin in September 2023 and the first operations were slated to begin in 2026 when it would produce batteries for one million electric vehicles per year.

But the Swedish battery maker announced early this year it had filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, leaving the Quebec facility’s future in doubt.

Lyten has been buying-up Northvolt assets since then, beginning with the acquisition of a Northvolt facility in Poland in early July, followed by the Swedish company’s product range and intellectual property related to battery energy storage systems a few weeks later, and now the Swedish and German assets this month.

Lyten also acquired Northvolt’s Cuberg battery manufacturing facility in California in November of 2024.

Lyten chairman and co-founder Lars Herlitz said the company’s plans are in response to the demand for European and North American-made batteries. It also compliments Lyten’s existing lithium-sulphur battery manufacturing operations in Silicon Valley, which are targeted toward the drone and defence sectors.

“The combination of Northvolt’s world-class manufacturing assets and low-cost clean energy, Lyten’s world leading lithium-sulfur battery technology, and Lyten’s U.S. battery materials supply chain creates the right formula to fulfill Europe and North America’s battery manufacturing ambitions,” Herlitz said.

Northvolt North America interim CEO Karen Chang said she is “encouraged” by Lyten’s interest in the Quebec subsidiary.

“It underscores the promising foundations established through the Northvolt project and Québec’s potential role in the growth of the North American battery ecosystem,” she said in a statement. “We remain focused on advancing this vision, in close coordination with our partners and stakeholders.”

Quebec Economy Minister Christine Fréchette said the province will meet with Lyten representatives in the coming days to hear “what they have to offer.”

“Our government has leverage to regulate, or refuse, the acquisition of Northvolt’s Quebec operations,” she said in an Aug. 7 social media post. “It is our responsibility to rigorously assess this new situation and to review potential offers from the prospective buyer regarding Quebec.”

The Quebec government invested $270 million in Northvolt’s Swedish parent company prior to its bankruptcy filing in Europe. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which manages the province’s pension fund, also invested $200 million in the company.

The province has said it lost its investment due to Northvolt’s financial downfall while the federal government, which also committed funding, says that it did not suffer any monetary losses.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.