Lyten is looking to buy Northvolt’s in-limbo $7-million EV battery manufacturing plant project as part of a broader purchase of the company’s North American assets.

The effort comes after Lyten, a U.S. developer of lithium-sulfur batteries, agreed to purchase troubled Northvolt’s remaining assets in Sweden and Germany for US$5 billion.

Northvolt North America is separate from a bankruptcy process involving the firm’s Swedish parent, from which Lyten purchased the European assets. The North American company, which owns the proposed Montreal site, said a sale and due-diligence processes involving Canadian and U.S. assets are continuing.

“We are encouraged by the strong interest expressed by Lyten in Northvolt North America,” said Karen Chang, interim CEO at Northvolt North America. “It underscores the promising foundations established through the Northvolt project and Quebec’s potential role in the growth of the North American battery ecosystem. We remain focused on advancing this vision, in close co-ordination with our partners and stakeholders.”

Lyten, a San Jose, Calif.-based startup, announced that it had signed a binding deal to acquire Northvolt’s remaining assets in Sweden and Germany following the European company’s bankruptcy earlier this year.

“The agreement includes Northvolt’s main manufacturing plant and research site in Sweden as well as land for a future plant in Germany,” Lyten said in a statement.

Lyten added that it is “committed to pursuing the acquisition of Northvolt Six,” the site where Northvolt North America still plans to build a large battery-cell factory in the Greater Montreal Area with financial support from the Quebec and Canadian governments.

The Quebec government has said that it has lost its $270-million investment, which was provided to the parent firm. The province also provided a $240-million loan secured by the Montreal property, and it remains to be seen how that point will affect a future sale of the proposed Montreal plant.

The federal government has not yet disbursed the approximately $1.3 billion that it agreed to invest, indicating that Ottawa could still play a role if the project is sold.

Northvolt North America said Société Générale continues to serve as the company’s exclusive financial advisors and support the company during the sale and due-diligence processes.

Photo: Northvolt