"We are here to create new job opportunities and reinvent Northvolt's products. We want to start hiring right away," says Lyten CEO, Dan Cook.
UPDATE: 14:30
Cook was very positive about the current set-up at Ett.
– There's a great set of facilities, but there was also a great set of people - they are some of the most dedicated, hard-working people that I've run into in the industry. They have already solved, unbeknownst to many, a lot of the problems that got Northvolt into this situation.
– I need to really emphasise that we will really focus on the step-by-step achievement of incremental volumes. 1.8 gigawatts at a time, to be exact. Now that is really what our strategy is about.
UPDATE: 13:30
Dan Cook is asked if Lyten is collaborating with another battery manufacturer.
He replies:
– First of all, I just want you to know that we already have a very talented group of employees. (Chinese company) CATL will not be part of this factory. There is no reason with lithium sulphur and the existing technologies. We are not cooperating more than we have to with foreign companies. We have to build independence for Europe and the US.
UPDATE: 12:35
Dan Cook, CEO and co-founder of Lyten, begins by thanking everyone involved for making this deal possible.
– This week has been the most exciting week of my professional life, he says.
He says that Lyten is today the world's leading manufacturer of lithium-sulphur batteries.
– We are here because there are talented engineers and technicians up here in the north. We are here to create new job opportunities and reinvent Northvolt's products. We want to start hiring right away, says Cook.
He calls the acquisition a defining moment in the company's history.
Cook was asked how Lyten would make the factory a success when Northvolt had failed.
His answer was forthright:
– I've worked in the automotive sector all my career. I'm an engineer who's worked in Detroit factories. When I walked around Northvolt Ett, I saw that it had everything we needed, including the staff. I already know how to make it a success.
UPDATE: 16:55
Peter Carlsson offers congratulations to Lyten.
Norran spoke with bankruptcy trustee Mikael Kubu just minutes after Lyten was announced as the buyer of the bankrupt Northvolt company. On the phone, he said he was on his way to Skellefteå to attend the press conference scheduled for Friday morning.
He is noticeably relieved.
– Yes, absolutely. I'm relieved that we managed to finalise an agreement, he says.
Minister for Energy and Industry Ebba Busch participated by video.
Would you say it's a good deal?
– I can say that it's positive to have a buyer who can hold the assets together and who is taking over what is left. But it's probably not fair to say that it's a success for the creditors.
Because the purchase price doesn't cover the debts?
– No, absolutely not.
How much did they have to pay?
– I can't say. The purchase price is confidential.
The agreement was completely finalised last night after a long period of intensive work. According to Kubu, it has been especially hectic with long negotiations and complex agreements throughout July and August.
– It's been an enormous amount of work, not least in July, and many of us haven't had any vacation at all, he says.
At the same time, there has been pressure to get the agreement finalised in time.
– It has been a race against the clock. It costs a lot to maintain the factory, even though we have scaled back production and other things.
How much time would you say was left?
– Not much. It was a matter of weeks before we would have been forced to sell off the parts separately. And then there would have been no turning back.
Now what remains is regulatory approval and some administrative work before the takeover can take place. Until then, the bankrupt estate, along with the new buyer, is keeping the business running. Kubu believes that the takeover could happen in mid or late October.
Do you expect them to be approved in the regulatory review?
– Yes, as far as I know, there shouldn't be any issues. But it is primarily the buyer who is making that analysis, says Kubu.