California-based battery startup Lyten has raised US$200 million from existing investors to acquire assets from the bankrupt Swedish manufacturer Northvolt AB.

This funding will facilitate the restart of production at Northvolt’s factory in Gdansk, Poland.

The Gdansk facility, idled earlier this year, will initially resume operations using nickel-based battery cells previously developed by Northvolt.

Lyten plans to begin customer deliveries from the plant by the fourth quarter of 2025. It aims to convert the factory to produce its proprietary lithium-sulfur cells in the long term.

The acquisition also includes intellectual property related to energy storage systems, according to Lyten.

The company did not disclose financial details of the transaction. However, the Gdansk factory reportedly cost Northvolt around US$200 million to construct.

Lyten’s strategy shift includes expanding its focus to stationary energy storage and military drone applications in Europe.

The company aims to broaden its presence beyond the US market, where declining electric vehicle sales have led to a reevaluation of business models.

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🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ European battery manufacturing struggles create acquisition opportunities despite initial promise

Northvolt’s financial troubles demonstrate how even well-funded European battery manufacturers can face significant challenges despite ambitious beginnings and strong backing.

The company launched in 2017 with plans to build Europe’s largest battery factory, requiring a €4 billion investment over six years and targeting production capacity of over 32 GWh1.

Northvolt secured funding from major organizations including Stena and Vattenfall, and assembled a leadership team with executives from Tesla, Panasonic, and ABB1.

Yet the company still faced financial difficulties, creating the opportunity for Lyten to acquire its Polish factory—which originally cost Northvolt about $200 million to build—at what Keith Norman describes as “a discount to their value because of the challenges in the market.”

This reflects broader struggles in European battery manufacturing, where companies face intense competition from established Asian manufacturers while trying to build expensive new production capabilities.

2️⃣ Lithium-sulfur technology offers compelling advantages over conventional batteries

Lyten’s focus on lithium-sulfur batteries reflects significant technical advantages that could reshape energy storage economics.

Lithium-sulfur batteries offer theoretical energy density up to 2,500 Wh/kg compared to 150-350 Wh/kg for conventional lithium-ion batteries, potentially delivering much more power in lighter packages2.

The technology also uses abundant sulfur instead of expensive materials like cobalt and nickel that dominate lithium-ion production, potentially reducing manufacturing costs significantly3.

However, current lithium-sulfur batteries face cycle life limitations of only 100-500 cycles compared to over 1,000 cycles for lithium-ion batteries3.

This explains Lyten’s strategy of starting production with conventional nickel-based cells that Northvolt had already built, then gradually transitioning to their proprietary lithium-sulfur technology as they refine the manufacturing process.

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