Swedish prosecutors will charge Northvolt with gross manslaughter following the death of a worker EV batteryThe US manufacturer's struggling gigafactory in the country's icy north, according to the Financial Times Reports.
Environmental prosecutor Christer B. Jarlås told the newspaper that officials will deliver the formal notice in the coming weeks, suggesting that Northvolt is under investigation for possible legal responsibility for the incident.
The notice relates to a 25-year-old Northvolt employee who died on December 15 as a result of severe burns sustained in an explosion on a production line at the start-up's megaplant Skellefteå a month before.
In a separate incident on December 15th A construction worker was killed and another injured when a fork stand fell on him while building a concrete foundation for Northvolt's factory expansion.
Back to business with the TNW conference
It's time to set your goals and budget for the coming year! Get 2 tickets now and save €€€ on this Super EarlyBird fare. Limited offer.
Northvolt temporarily halted production at the factory following the deaths, exacerbating existing delays particularly affecting deliveries to Swedish truck maker Scania.
Swedish police also opened an investigation in June into the mysterious deaths of three workers at the factory, all of whom died in their sleep after working at the factory. Initial police investigations revealed that there was no connection between the deaths. Northvolt called it a “tragic coincidence.” After the deaths, Toyota temporarily withdrew its workers from the factory.
Battery boom is about to burst?
The impending court case is the latest setback in a difficult year for Northvolt, which has faced liquidity problems as it struggles to ramp up battery production Cooling EV sales and strong competition from Chinese battery manufacturers.
Peter Carlsson, a former Tesla executive, co-founded Northvolt in 2016 with the aim of building Europe's leading lithium-ion battery manufacturer. The company secured a hefty sum Since then, it has raised $15 billion in debt, equity and government funding was the cornerstone of the continent's attempts to catch up with the USA and China in battery cell production.
However, Northvolt has in recent months has dismissed a quarter of its workforce scrapped plans to build a new factory in Borlänge, Sweden, closed its research and development center in San Francisco, stopped producing new cathodes and sought a buyer for its energy storage business. BMW in June cancelled a $2 billion electric vehicle battery supply deal with Northvolt, which is struggling to meet demand from automakers.
Europe's most valuable startup needs a lifeline, but at this point it's uncertain where that will come from. This month Sweden's Prime Minister governed announced a government bailout for Northvolt and said it was up to private investors and the company to resolve the matter.
Accordingly BloombergToday a group of Northvolt lenders will meet to consider whether they want to extend their support or cut their losses and risk billions in losses. Their ruling could prove crucial in saving Northvolt from becoming a financial pile of scrap metal – and lithium – from Europe's battery poster child.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.