DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Battery giant Northvolt to cut 25% of workforce in Sweden as part of a major cost-cutting drive
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Battery maker Northvolt on Monday announced plans to cut a total of 1,600 jobs in Sweden as part of a major cost-cutting drive. The strategic action requires Northvolt to reduce its global workforce by around 20% and a 25% reduction in Sweden, the firm said. Northvolt, which currently delivers batteries from its first gigafactory Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå, said in March that it had over 6,000 employees. The announced measures come as part of a broader strategic review and in response to what Northvolt described as "a challenging macroeconomic climate." Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Northvolt is one of Europe's most valuable privately-held tech firms that builds lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry.

Persons: Northvolt, Peter Carlsson, Carlsson, — CNBC's Ryan Browne Organizations: Office, Monday, Volkswagen, Volvo Locations: Northvolt, Sweden, Skellefteå, Stockholm

☆ Battery giant Northvolt to lay off staff in huge cost-cutting drive amid EV market slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Northvolt, a key battery producer for Europe's electric vehicle industry, announced Monday that it plans to cut jobs, shut down one of its sites, and enter into discussions with partners and investors to secure the future of a facility in Poland. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Northvolt is one of Europe's most valuable privately-held tech firms that builds lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry. The battery maker cited a "challenging macroeconomic environment and our subsequent reassessment of Northvolt's near-term priorities" as the key reasons behind its decision to embark on the cost-cutting drive. Northvolt has faced a litany of pressures in recent months — not least the demand challenges facing the broader electric vehicle industry. BMW said at the time that the deal had been cancelled due to Northvolt being unable to deliver on time.

Persons: Northvolt, Peter Carlsson Organizations: Volkswagen, Volvo, Alternative Fuels, BMW, EV Locations: Poland, Stockholm, Sweden, Europe

☆ How Diddy got to be one of hip-hop's biggest businessmen
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Madeline Berg | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

AdvertisementFederal officials raided the Los Angeles and Miami homes of Sean Combs on Monday. Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way. Within the first two years of the partnership, annual sales grew from 75,000 to 400,000 cases, according to a lawsuit Combs filed against Diageo last year. "She recognized that she was powerless, and that reporting Mr. Combs to the authorities would not alter Mr. Combs's status or influence but would merely give Mr. Combs another excuse to hurt her." AdvertisementIn a separate lawsuit filed in November, Joi Dickerson-Neal alleges that Combs drugged and assaulted her in 1991.

Persons: Sean, Diddy, Combs, He's, —, Sean Combs, Casandra Ventura, Ventura, Cassie, Rodney Jones Jr, Lil Rod, groping, Aaron Dyer, Mr, Craig Mack, Faith Evans, Mase, B.I.G, Forbes, Sean Jean, they'd, DeLeon, He'd, Mark Wahlberg, Ciroc, Ethan Miller, Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Jay, — he's, he's, Kerry James Marshall, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean, Michel Basquiat, Joi Dickerson, Neal, Jane Doe Organizations: Service, Federal, Federal Homeland Security, AP, Business, Bad Boy Records, Uptown Records, East, Bad, Arista Records, Global Brands Group, Diageo, of, Hulu, Combs Enterprises Locations: Los Angeles, Miami

☆ Diddy is one of hip-hop's richest and most powerful businessmen. Take a look at his net worth and web of influence.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Madeline Berg | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Read previewFederal officials raided the Los Angeles and Miami homes of Sean Combs on Monday. Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way. Mr. Combs is innocent." Within the first two years of the partnership, annual sales grew from 75,000 to 400,000 cases, according to a lawsuit Combs filed against Diageo last year. "She recognized that she was powerless, and that reporting Mr. Combs to the authorities would not alter Mr. Combs's status or influence but would merely give Mr. Combs another excuse to hurt her."

Persons: —, Sean Combs, Combs, Casandra Ventura, Ventura, Cassie, Rodney Jones Jr, Lil Rod, groping, Aaron Dyer, Mr, Diddy, Craig Mack, Faith Evans, Mase, B.I.G, Forbes, Sean John, they'd, DeLeon, He'd, Mark Wahlberg, Ciroc, Ethan Miller, Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Jay, — he's, he's, Kerry James Marshall, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean, Michel Basquiat, Joi Dickerson, Neal, Jane Doe, Sean Jean Organizations: Service, Federal Homeland Security, AP, Business, Bad Boy Records, Uptown Records, East, Bad, Arista Records, Global Brands Group, Diageo, of, Hulu, Combs Enterprises Locations: Los Angeles, Miami

☆ Nick Cannon shuts down the idea of having more children: '12 ain't enough?'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Ayomikun Adekaiyero | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewNick Cannon said he has no plans to expand his family after having 12 children with six different women. "It's so funny, everybody's always trying to get me to have more kids," Cannon told People magazine. The entertainer added that his favorite thing about fatherhood is his children telling Cannon they love him. Brittany Bell, Powerful Queen Cannon, Golden Cannon, and Nick Cannon in December 2022. In February 2023, Cannon told Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier he would let God decide whether he has more children.

Persons: —, Nick Cannon, everybody's, Cannon, Mariah Carey, Brittany Bell, Abby De La Rosa, Bre Tiesi, LaNisha Cole, Alyssa Scott, Scott's, Golden Cannon, David Livingston, Jason Lee, Kevin Frazier Organizations: Service, People, Business, Getty, Entertainment

The UK goal was ahead of the 2035 ban in the European Union, where most British-made cars are sold. "The timing sends the message that things can change again, making it difficult for companies to manage their investment strategies." Under the new mandate that the government could make public as early as this week, the 80% 2030 electric target should remain - with the other 20% a mixture of fossil fuel models and hybrids until 2035. "In Britain, there's no industrial strategy, no intent for industrial strategy and no desire for an industrial strategy," Palmer said. "The UK (fossil fuel ban) delay is not a good sign in terms of stability, but they have realigned with EU regulation," said Denis Schemoul, director of European vehicle forecasting at S&P Global Mobility.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Christopher Furlong, Boris Johnson, Sunak, it's, Philip Nothard, ZEV, Andy Leyland, Adrian Keen, Keen, Andy Palmer, Aston Martin, Palmer, Denis Schemoul, Nick Carey, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Britain's, Rover, Industry, Union, EV, European Union, Cox Automotive, Volvo, Ford, EU, P Global Mobility, Thomson Locations: Warwick , England, British, Britain, EVs, Europe, Spain

☆ British payments fintech Volt in talks to raise fresh funds from Coinbase-backer IVP, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

London-based fintech startup Volt is set to raise fresh funds, sources say. The company, founded in 2019, is in talks with VC firm IVP over a deal worth around $50 million. British fintech startup Volt is in talks to raise fresh capital from Silicon Valley investing firm IVP, sources say. The payments firm, founded in 2019, has already raised around $28 million to date and counts Swedish investor EQT Ventures among its biggest backers. Volt is set to raise around $50 million as part of the deal, two London-based sources said.

Persons: Slack, PSD2, IVP, Hopin, Tom Greenwood, Jordan Lawrence Organizations: EQT Ventures, Fuel Ventures, Open Finance Association, Open Banking, IFX Locations: British, Silicon Valley, London, Europe, Volt's, Brazil

☆ Factbox: Companies invest in EV battery factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Below are recent investments announced by companies:GERMANYSweden's Northvolt said on May 13 it will invest 3-5 billion euros ($3.3-5.5 billion) in an EV battery plant in Heide in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein as long as subsidies are approved. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to build six battery factories in Europe totalling 240 gigawatt (GWh) of capacity by 2030. Production at its first battery plant, "SalzGiga", in Salzgitter in the Lower Saxony region will start in 2025. Slovakian battery manufacturer InoBat said last October it had signed a declaration of intent with the Spanish government to set up an EV battery factory in central Spain's city Valladolid, expected to cost 3 billion euros. POLANDLG Chem EV battery in Wroclaw started production in the second half of 2017, with a capacity of 100,000 batteries per year.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, GERMANY Sweden's Northvolt, China's CATL, Germany's, Mercedes Benz, Elon Musk, Berclau, Taiwan's ProLogium, Jean, Luc Monfort, Mata, BASQUEVOLT, InoBat, China's BYD, AEHRA, Poland's, Alessandro Parodi, Tiago Brandao, Matteo Allievi, Barbara Lewis, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Volkswagen, EV, Germany's BASF, Automotive Cells Company, ACC, Stellantis, Tesla, FRANCE Joint, France, Renault, Basque Country, Spanish, India's Tata Group, ITALY Joint, POLAND LG, European Commission, SWEDEN Northvolt's Skelleftea, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, Europe, Asia, United States, GERMANY, Heide, Schleswig, Holstein, Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, China, Erfurt, Thuringia, Schwarzheide, Brandenburg ., Ludwigsfelde, Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland, Palatinate, Gigafactory, FRANCE, Billy, France, Dunkirk, Douai, Ruitz, Ergué, Quimper, Montreal, SPAIN Spain, Europe's, Germany, Navalmoral de, Extremadura, Sagunto, Valencia, Spain, Basque, Slovakian, Spain's, Valladolid, Britain, ITALY, Termoli, POLAND, Wroclaw, HUNGARY

☆ The EV industry is gaining momentum. But public charging is a long way from being accessible to all
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Equally important is making sure these EV chargers are accessible to all. Ensuring EV chargers are accessible to all is a big task, and organizations like Motability are pushing hard to create conditions for change. In collaboration with the U.K. government's Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, it commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop a "national accessible charging standard for EV chargepoints." Separately, it received funding from Motability to develop design guidance for those involved in the charging industry. In July 2022, the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency, issued design recommendations for accessible charging stations.

☆ Northvolt, a $12 billion startup founded by an ex-Tesla VP, thinks crushing and shredding old batteries is the way to make electric vehicles truly sustainable
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

NorthvoltHow Northvolt's process worksNorthvolt's recycling process, which was dreamed up in 2018 and planned and tested in the following years, involves crushing, shredding, and filtering dismantled batteries. Northvolt is left with a black powder called black mass, which contains nickel, manganese, cobalt, and lithium. Once Northvolt's latest venture, Revolt Ett, is up and running at full capacity, it's expected to recycle 125,000 tons of battery materials each year. Cylindrical cells; shredded pieces of steel, copper, aluminium, plastic, and black mass from mechanical recycling; black mass; and a mix of nickel, manganese, and cobalt sulfates. The Hydrovolt pilot runs Northvolt's recycling process up to the black-mass stage.

☆ Britishvolt deal at risk of collapse over power supply contract - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - Recharge Industries Pty Ltd's attempt to buy the Britishvolt site is at risk of collapsing due to a dispute with administrator EY over a power supply contract signed by the failed battery startup, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Australia-based Recharge Industries and the British accounting firm hit an impasse over payments related to transferring a grid connection contract with the UK's National Grid, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. EY, Britishvolt and Recharge Industries did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Recharge Industries bought Britishvolt's intellectual property for 8.6 million pounds ($10.61 million) last month, but is yet to pay the 9.7 million pounds for the land despite passing of the deadline, the FT report added. ($1 = 0.8108 pounds)Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi MajumdarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Volkswagen to invest in mines in bid to become global battery supplier
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Europe's biggest carmaker wants its battery unit PowerCo to become a global battery supplier, not just produce for Volkswagen's own needs, Thomas Schmall told Reuters in an interview. Long-term, Volkswagen plans to build enough cells to meet half its global battery needs, with most production capacity located in Europe and North America, according to Schmall. "The bottleneck for raw materials is mining capacity - that's why we need to invest in mines directly," he said. Volkswagen released on Thursday the details of a 25,000-euro EV it aims to sell in Europe from 2025. Asian producers like CATL, LG Chem and Samsung SDI dominate global cell production, with almost half of planned battery cell capacity in Europe by Asian players.

☆ Volkswagen: we are covered by our three gigafactories in Europe until 2028
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WOLFSBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) battery needs are covered until 2028 by its three confirmed factories in Europe - the Salzgitter plant in Germany, Northvolt's plant in Sweden and a planned plant in Valencia, board member Thomas Schmall said on Monday. "With these three plants we are covered until 2028," Schmall said at a press event at the Salzgitter plant, inaugurated last July. The Valencia plant, confirmed last year, is due to begin production in 2026. Volkswagen said last week it was waiting to hear what Europe's response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will be before progressing with plans to build further battery plants in the region. The carmaker was standardising the structure of its factories to make production more efficient, Schmall said, describing the process of building new plants as "copy-paste".

☆ Australia's Recharge Industries buys failed battery firm Britishvolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Australia's Recharge Industries said on Monday it had bought Britishvolt, the collapsed startup which had struggled to fund a major electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in northern England. Recharge Industries, privately owned by New York-based investment fund Scale Facilitation, was selected earlier this month as the preferred bidder for Britishvolt, which had outlined plans for a 3.8 billion pound ($4.54 billion) gigafactory. Britain's ambitions of building a home-grown EV battery industry that can support domestic car production were thrown into doubt when Britishvolt collapsed in January, after failing to raise enough funding for the factory in Cambois. "We have the right plan in place, to match and support the region's energy and ambition to become a major player in the international battery market." Recharge Industries, which is building a lithium-ion cell factory in Australia expected to begin production next year, emerged as Britishvolt's buyer following a bidding process that saw multiple offers.

☆ Goldman-backed battery firm Northvolt earmarks next quarter for U.S. factory announcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Northvolt building in Sweden, photographed in February 2022. Mikael Sjoberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSKELLEFTEA, Sweden ꟷ Battery firm Northvolt will outline details of a new manufacturing plant in the U.S. before the start of the summer, CEO Peter Carlsson told CNBC Tuesday. The Swedish company has been reevaluating some of its investment decisions in light of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act — often referred to as IRA. "I would be surprised if we have not done an announcement by latest in Q2 [second quarter]," he said. A worker walking past the coating ovens section at the Northvolt Ett factory in Skelleftea, north Sweden.

Northvolt's stock market debut would come in an IPO market that has gradually recovered from a major slump in 2022, which was driven by stock market volatility and fears of an economic slowdown. Northvolt has so far raised billions in debt to fund its factory investments, including a $1.1 billion raise last year in convertible notes. Northvolt has used the money from convertible bonds to increase liquidity and ramp up production at its gigafactory in Skelleftea, Sweden. Northvolt has raised about $8 billion in debt and equity to date from a wide range of investors, including Baillie Gifford and Folksam Group. (This story has been corrected to say that Northvolt 'has used the money from convertible bonds', not 'has refinanced its convertible bonds', in paragraph 7)Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EY selects Australian battery group as preferred bidder for Britishvolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Accounting firm EY on Monday said it selected Scale Facilitation Partners and its Australian subsidiary Recharge Industries as the preferred bidder to buy struggling UK startup Britishvolt out of administration. EY's restructuring arm EY-Parthenon were appointed administrators of Britishvolt in January after the company struggled to raise funds for a major electric vehicle battery factory in northern England and stay afloat. The deal was expected to be completed within the next seven days, EY said in a statement on Monday. Britishvolt, Recharge Industries and Scale Facilitation did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Britishvolt has been in talks with a consortium of investors about selling a majority stake in the company, the company said earlier this month, without disclosing any names.

☆ Northvolt says 'believes in Germany', battery plant talks ongoing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Northvolt believes in Germany as an industrial location and continues discussions on building a battery plant there, it said on Wednesday amid speculation that the Swedish battery maker could divert its planned investment to the United States. There are certain requirements in order to make this feasible in competition with the United States," Nicolas Steinbacher, Head of Strategy and Program for Northvolt in Germany, said at a battery conference in Berlin. "We are working together with the government in a spirit of trust to solve these challenges," he added. The company is holding fortnightly citizen consultations in Heide in northern Germany, where it signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Schleswig-Holstein in 2022 for a possible battery plant. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Battery startup Britishvolt asks court to appoint administrators
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - UK electric vehicle (EV) battery startup Britishvolt, which has struggled to raise funds for a large factory in northern England has made an application to appoint administrators, a court document showed on Tuesday. Britishvolt had been in talks with potential buyers, including some of its early investors, after securing a short-term funding lifeline in November to help keep it afloat. But by the summer, Britishvolt had only raised around 200 million pounds and had pushed back its production timeline. Britishvolt had received backing from mining giant Glencore (GLEN.L), which kicked off a funding round for the startup last February. ($1 = 0.8189 pounds)Reporting by Michael Holden, Sachin Ravikumar and Nick Carey, Editing by Kylie MacLellan and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italvolt to license battery technology from Israel's StoreDot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle batterymaker Italvolt will license fast-charging battery technology from Israeli start-up StoreDot to manufacture lithium-ion batteries at a plant it is raising funds to build in Italy, the companies said on Monday. Italvolt will ringfence a minimum amount of the batteries produced at the plant for StoreDot's business and customers, Italvolt's statement said, without specifying the amount. Fast-charge capability could also enable EV manufacturers to install smaller battery packs and thus lower the cost of their cars. Currently, StoreDot licenses technology to its manufacturing partner EVE Energy (300014.SZ) to produce batteries in China and ship to customers in China and Korea. Italvolt is one of a handful of battery startups trying to raise money and build a homegrown European battery industry to compete with the Asian giants that dominate global sales.

BERLIN, Jan 10 (Reuters) - German carmakers, Tesla, chip producers and battery maker Northvolt met the German chancellor and cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss topics from European law on vehicle emissions to energy prices, according to two participants. The annual summit was formerly only for carmakers but was this time dubbed a "mobility" summit, with the broader focus signalled by Northvolt's presence on the guestlist for the first time. Tesla (TSLA.O), was not on the first draft of the guest list shared with participants but was present, according to a participant, alongside German carmakers Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE), Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) and Opel. Associations, including cyclist club ADFC and rail association "Allianz pro Schiene", criticised the summit as still too car-focused. German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, Transport Minister Volker Wissing and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil were among those present from the government, the other participant said.

☆ Britishvolt in talks with investors about possible sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - UK battery startup Britishvolt said on Monday it is in talks with a consortium of investors about selling a majority stake in the company, but did not disclose any names. The company said back in November that it had received short-term financial backing to help it stay afloat. Britishvolt had received backing from mining group Glencore (GLEN.L), which kicked off a funding round for the startup last February. But as of last summer, Britishvolt said it had only raised around 200 million pounds and pushed back its production timeline citing "difficult external economic headwinds." Auto industry executives have said that without local battery production, much of Britain's car industry could shift overseas.

Search resuls for: "Volt's"

22 mentions found