Northvolt, a Sweden-based manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries, received around CAD 200 million (~$150 million) from CDPQ. The funding is in the form of a convertible debt, which will help facilitate the Northvolt Six project in Québec.
Groundwork for constructing the Northvolt Six facility—a fully integrated battery factory in Saint-Basile-le-Grand and McMasterville, outside of Montréal—is expected to start by the end of 2023. When fully built, the factory will have an annual production capacity of up to 60 GWh, with facilities to manufacture cathode active material, cells, and recycled materials, effectively closing the battery loop on site.
The company currently delivers batteries from its first gigafactory, Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå, Sweden, and from its R&D and industrialization campus, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden.
Northvolt had raised around $1.2 billion in convertible notes earlier this year, which was an extension of the $1.1 billion convertible note that was initially signed in July 2022 and aimed to support the company’s expansion plans across Europe and North America. The round saw participation from several key players such as IMCO, Blackrock, CPP Investments, and OMERS.
“The battery value chain is a high-interest sector for CDPQ, and with a favorable impact on the energy transition, we believe it will experience strong growth over the next decade, which we expect will benefit our depositors,” said Kim Thomassin, Executive Vice-President and Head of Québec at CDPQ. “This sector is promising for Québec’s economic development, and we want to contribute to that.”
According to Mercom’s 9M And Q3 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid announced debt and public market financing for Energy Storage companies in 9M 2023 decreased 63% YoY with $6.6 billion in 26 deals compared to $18 billion in 19 deals in 9M 2022. LG Energy Solution’s $10.7 IPO in Q1 and SK On’s $2 billion debt financing in Q3 2022 contributed heavily to the record funding raised in 9M 2022.
Earlier this year, Flux Power Holdings, a developer of lithium-ion-based energy storage solutions, secured a $15 million credit facility from Gibraltar Business Capital, an asset-based lender for middle-market businesses, to fund its working capital and to refinance its existing credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank.
