In March 2025 Swedish electric battery manufacturer Northvolt became the largest bankruptcy case in modern Swedish history. An American company has now bought Northvolt’s assets and is starting to rehire in Sweden – but is the sale even finalized?
Wait, what happened?
A lot of hopes used to hang on Northvolt – not only in Sweden, but also in the rest of Europe, where many saw having a major in-continent electric battery manufacturer as the best way to gain independence from China in the emerging sector. The company brought talent from around the world to work in at their Northvolt Ett factory in Skellefteå, which lies about halfway between the Västerbotten and Norrbotten region capitals of Umeå and Luleå.
But then Northvolt couldn’t manage to scale up production before its cash ran out. When the company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, it had around 5,000 employees, of which approximately 3,000 were in the Northvolt Ett factory in SkellefteÃ¥.
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Where do the Americans come in?
In early August 2025, a small Silicon Valley battery company called Lyten signed a binding agreement to purchase the assets in Northvolt’s bankruptcy estate, including the large battery factory in SkellefteÃ¥.Â
Lyten’s Sweden manager Matthias E J Arleth said in September 2025 that they planned to finalise the sale of Northvolt’s assets by the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2025, and that battery production in SkellefteÃ¥ would resume in the first half of 2026.
But at the end of December, the newswire service TT reported that Lyten’s acquisition of Northvolt’s bankruptcy estate was still not complete.
“Some parts are taking longer than expected, but overall the acquisition is progressing according to plan,” wrote Lyten’s marketing manager Keith Norman in a statement.
“This is a complex acquisition and we are keen to complete it as quickly as possible,” Norman wrote in an email to TT in late December 2025. “We understand the impact this has on society, current and former employees and key suppliers. We have been optimistic from the beginning about the timetable for getting everything done.”
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What has been done?
Lyten began re-employing former Northvolt workers in November of 2025, and now have around 170 former Northvolt employees working for them.
Swedish employment agency Arbetsförmedlingen currently shows multiple open electrical engineering and manufacturing job postings from Lyten, all based in Skellefteå.
“In addition, Lyten pays the costs of maintaining equipment and buildings,” Norman of Lyten added in December. “Lyten makes payments to Northvolt’s bankruptcy estate when milestones are reached, and all parties are working purposefully to complete the acquisition.”
What is Lyten’s company history?
Lyten is an unlisted American company, headquartered in San José, California. Over the past ten years, the company has built up a production of lithium-sulfur batteries, sensors and composite materials. Northvolt’s production was lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Although the price Lyten is paying for the bankrupt Northvolt assets remains undisclosed, the assets have previously been valued at around five billion dollars, according to Lyten. Lyten says the purchase is being made with existing funds in the company.