Northvolt IPO: Everything you need to know about Northvolt

What do we know about the Northvolt IPO?

Northvolt plans to debut on the Stockholm Stock Exchange within one to two years, according to its head of corporate finance Andreas Pettersson Rohman. This would place its initial public offering at some time in late 2024 or 2025.

Rohman stated that Northvolt has spent more than a year preparing for its debut, but the company intends to wait and see how the market fares. There hasn't been a successful tech IPO in several years due to investor uneasiness amidst economic uncertainty. The largest IPOs of the year, ARM, Klaviyo and Instacart, have all fallen below their initial listing price since debuting this fall.

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How to trade the Northvolt IPO

Once Northvolt has been listed, you’ll be able to trade its shares in the same way as any other stock on the market.

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What is Northvolt?

Northvolt is a Stockhom-based renewable battery maker developing high-performance lithium-ion cells. The Swedish battery firm was founded by two former Tesla executives in 2017. Since then, it's grown to become the largest battery manufacturer in Europe.

In addition to producing several different battery specifications, Northvolt also creates modular components able to scale its battery systems to a variety of applications. Northvolt batteries power everything from ferries and motorcycles to mining instruments and energy storage systems.

Northvolt is headquartered in Skelleftea, Sweden, with additional battery factories across the country. The firm is actively expanding across Europe and North America.

How much is Northvolt worth?

Northvolt was last valued at $12 billion in 2022 and, according to Reuters, could reach a value upwards of $20 billion post-IPO.

Northvolt has undergone 12 funding rounds garnering more than $9 billion in debt and equity since its founding. This year the firm has raised $1.2 billion in convertible notes from North American investment firms including Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and IMCO, an Ontario-based firm, as it looks to expand its manufacturing presence. 

Convertible notes are originally structured as debt with the option to convert to equity at a later date. This type of short-term debt is often offered to investors ahead of an IPO filing. 

Is Northvolt profitable?

While company financial reports have not been made public, Northvolt has secured billions from investors, as detailed above, and more than $55 billion in pre-orders from European automakers like BMW, Volvo, Volkswagen, Fluence and Scania.

Demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to grow, and the battery maker Northvolt is investing heavily in new facilities and R&D. The firm is likely spending much more than it currently makes to handle future demand and compete internationally.

What is Northvolt’s business model?

Northvolt designs and manufactures lithium-ion batteries and adaptable systems for a large range of applications using both clean energy and recycled materials.

The firm is one of the largest green-energy players in Europe, attracting international investors looking to take part in Europe’s energy transition towards green initiatives and electric vehicles.

The battery maker has plants across Europe and is currently building its newest location in Germany. It also announced plans this year to build a $7 billion-dollar factory outside Montreal.

Who are Northvolt’s competitors?

Northvolt’s competitors include other publicly traded EV battery makers like Telsa, QuantumScape and LG Energy Solutions. When you consider R&D firms in addition to EVs and renewable energy tech manufacturers, there are many ways to invest in Lithium and the energy transition as a whole. It’s helpful to compare the performance of these competing and related firms relative to the wider market when evaluating a Northvolt’s worth.

Tesla (NYSE:TSLA) is one of the most recognisable and largest EV firms in the world. With a market cap of about $700 billion—it is one of the most valuable companies in the world. The American automaker develops lithium-ion batteries as a supporting product to its fleet of EVs, and it’s capitalised on receiving US government subsidies as an industry leader to ramp up development.

QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) is a start-up backed by heavy players like Volkswagen and investor Bill Gates. Compared to other lithium-ion developers, QuantumScape Corp focuses primarily on the research and development of batteries and has yet to generate revenue. Read our full guide on Lithium stocks here, featuring an analysis of QuantumScape Corp.

LG Energy Solutions (KRX:373220) is a Seoul-based battery developer with a market cap of $87.05 billion. The company went public at the beginning of 2022 and became South Korea’s largest IPO to date. Like Northvolt, LG Energy focuses on designing and manufacturing lithium-ion batteries for a range of applications, making it the most similar competitor to Northvolt out of these three companies.

Many of the largest lithium-ion battery makers are headquartered in Asia. However, European and North American technology companies are eager to invest in domestic firms, and Western governments are also investing heavily in the sector with multi-billion subsidies.

Who owns Northvolt?

Northvolt was founded by former Tesla executives Peter Carlsson and Paolo Cerutti. Automakers like BMW and Volkswagen have bought large stakes in the company through equity financing rounds. The exact ownership makeup is currently unknown, but it is confirmed Volkswagen bought a 20% share of the company for €900 million in 2019.

Northvolt management team

The Northvolt management team is led by cofounders Carlsson and Cerutti. See the full list of executives below:

• Peter Carlsson – CEO
• Paolo Cerruti – CEO of Northvolt North America
• Alexander Hartman – CFO
• Emma Nehrenheim – Chief Environmental Officer
• Dennis van Schie – Chief Supply Chain Officer
• Daniela Maniaci – Chief People Officer
• Barbara Thierart – President of Battery Systems
• Frederik Hedlund – Senior VP Cell Operations
• Patrick Andreasson – Senior VP of Strategy & Sustainability
• Christofer Haux – VP Automotive & Foundry
• Anders Thor – VP of Communications & Public Affairs