Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has garnered a significant financial boost, securing a CAD 200 million investment in the form of a convertible bond from institutional investor Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). The funds are earmarked for supporting the construction of the Nortvolt Six battery cell factory located near Montreal in the Canadian province of Québec, with an expected opening later this year.
The Nortvolt Six facility is designed to achieve an annual capacity of 60 gigawatt hours, and it will house adjacent facilities for the production of active cathode material and battery recycling. This ambitious project stands as the largest private investment in the history of the province of Québec, solidifying CDPQ’s role as a key financial contributor.
Kim Thomassin, Executive Vice-President and Head of Québec at CDPQ, underscores the institution’s interest in the battery value chain, recognizing its potential for robust growth over the next decade and its positive impact on the energy transition. Thomassin emphasizes the sector’s significance for Québec’s economic development and expresses CDPQ’s commitment to contributing to this progress.
Paolo Cerruti, co-founder of Northvolt and CEO of Northvolt North America, notes that CDPQ’s involvement has been a collaborative effort spanning several months. Cerruti expresses delight in partnering with a significant, long-term institutional investor committed to advancing Québec’s economic and energy development.
This investment follows Northvolt’s successful capital-raising initiatives in August, where the company secured an additional USD 1.2 billion in capital for expansion in Europe and North America. Notably, the Volkswagen Group, AMF, AP Funds 1-4, Baillie Gifford, OMERS, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management were among the participants in the financing round.
