Sweden: EIB finances Northvolt’s battery factory with over $1 billion

• The lending package is part of a $5 billion non-recourse project financing, the biggest green debt deal in Europe to date, and will support expansion of Europe’s first circular battery production gigafactory, Northvolt Ett, in Skellefteå, Sweden.
• The EIB financing is backed by the Swedish National Debt Office and the European Commission’s InvestEU programme, and partially intermediated through commercial banks participating in the project financing.
• The EIB previously supported Northvolt’s demo line in Västerås, as well as the initial phase of the Skellefteå gigafactory, with the European Commission’s support.

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 today. 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.

This article was first published on 16 January by EIB.