The German battery factory project formerly led by Northvolt in Heide has received a key construction approval following its planned acquisition by U.S. battery maker Lyten, while the project company has also repaid part of a state-backed convertible bond tied to the development.
Northvolt Drei Projektgesellschaft, the entity overseeing the battery plant project near Heide, said it received the first partial construction approval under Germany’s Federal Immission Control Act from the Schleswig-Holstein State Office for the Environment.
The permit allows the company to proceed with construction of production buildings for the planned battery cell plant in Norderwöhrden and Lohe-Rickelshof near Heide.
The approval follows uncertainty over the future of the project after Northvolt’s insolvency raised questions over its planned battery plant in Germany, which had originally been expected to create around 3,000 jobs.
Lyten, which plans to acquire the project, has indicated it intends to proceed with a smaller-scale operation employing around 1,000 people.
The project company also said it has repaid 153 million euros ($166 million) from a convertible bond previously provided through German state-backed financing.
The funds will be returned equally to the federal government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein, which had guaranteed the financing.
“For the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and the state of Schleswig-Holstein, securing and recovering unused taxpayer funds has been a top priority from the outset,” a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs said in a statement cited by dpa.
“This ensures that part of the taxpayer money spent is safeguarded,” the spokesperson added.
A second repayment tranche of about 69 million euros is expected this summer, according to dpa.
German news agency dpa reported that around 330 million euros of the original 600 million euro financing package had already been spent on construction, land acquisition and equipment purchases.
The report added that nearly 50 million euros remains in a blocked account to support the solvency of Northvolt’s German subsidiary.
Source: Handelsblatt