Celebrating Sustainability: EIB Invests Over $1 Billion in Northvolt’s Gigafactory Expansion

Celebrating Sustainability: EIB Invests Over $1 Billion in Northvolt’s Gigafactory Expansion

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to provide a substantial lending package of slightly over $1.038 billion (€942.6 million) to support the expansion of Northvolt’s gigafactory in Skellefteå, Sweden. This financing is a crucial component of a $5 billion non-recourse project financing, marking the largest green debt deal in Europe to date. The expansion project aims to boost the annual output capacity for battery production to up to 60 GWh, creating a fully integrated circular battery production facility, a first of its kind in Europe. The EIB’s involvement underscores its commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions and aligns with Europe’s climate neutrality goals, as articulated in the European Green Deal and the European Battery Alliance.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 17-Jan-2024— /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance Northvolt’s gigafactory in Northern Sweden, with a total lending package to slightly over $1.038 billion (€942.6 million). The financing is an important part of the $5 billion debt financing raised for the expansion of the gigafactory in Skellefteå, announced. The expansion is expected to increase the annual output capacity for battery production to up to 60 GWh. The deal is the largest green loan raised in Europe to date and will facilitate the creation of a fully integrated circular battery production facility that has not previously existed outside Asia.

EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros stated. “With backing from the European Commission, the EIB has supported Northvolt from the very beginning, starting with the demonstration line in Västerås in 2018, and continuing with the first phase of the gigafactory in Skellefteå. We recognised Northvolt’s potential and importance for the energy transition and have supported them on our way to becoming the EU climate bank. We should not underestimate the importance of this type of project in reaching Europe’s climate neutrality, and now we’re glad to continue our support for the expansion.”

Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič in charge of the European Green Deal and the European Battery Alliance said: “We mean business when it comes to Europe’s battery industry. It is of strategic importance and a key battleground for global competitiveness. Northvolt, our battery pioneer, showcases that the EU has what it takes to build an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive battery ecosystem. I am proud of Northvolt’s success story as well as of other 160 industrial projects taking shape across the entire value chain, while promoted under the European Battery Alliance. The EIB’s role is indispensable. We need to be strategic, bold, agile.”

$500 million (€453.6 million) of the EIB’s financing package is provided under a guarantee issued by the Swedish National Debt Office Riksgälden, with a further $400 million (€362.9 million) guaranteed under the European Commission’s InvestEU programme. Finally, $138.7 million (€126.1 million) of the full $1.0387 billion package will be provided in the form of intermediated lending to Northvolt via participating commercial banks.

Co-Founder and CEO of Northvolt Peter Carlsson commented: “This financing is a milestone for the European energy transition. It will enable us to realise the full potential of Northvolt Ett and demonstrates that circular, sustainable business practices are fundamental to success in today’s industry.”

In 2018 the EIB supported the roll-out of Northvolt’s demo-line with a €52.5 million loan supported by the European Union’s InnovFin programme, later followed by a loan of $350 million (€319 million) for the first phase of the Northvolt Ett gigafactory, backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the predecessor of the InvestEU programme. The operation also contributes to the goals set out in the Green Deal Industrial Plan, which aims to provide support to scale up the EU’s manufacturing capacity for the net-zero technologies required to meet Europe’s ambitious climate targets.

Background information:

The EIB supports Europe’s battery production in all phases of the supply chain, from research and development to recycling. More information on the EIB’s previous support for Northvolt can be found here.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Northvolt was established in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. Pioneering a sustainable model for battery manufacturing, the company has received $55 billion in orders from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen Group. The company is currently delivering batteries from its first gigafactory Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå, Sweden and from its research and development and industrialisation campus Northvolt Labs in Västerås, Sweden, supported by over 5 000 employees in Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the United States and Canada.

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank