Silicon Valley startup Lyten will required to convince carbuildrs it can succeed where bankrupt Swedish EV battery buildr Northvolt failed, creating a European champion to reduce the region’s reliance on China.
Lyten, which develops lithium-sulfur batteries, unexpectedly announced on August 7 it was acquireing Northvolt’s assets, offering a lifeline to future European battery production for electric vehicles.
However, customers and investors burned by the Northvolt experience remain wary of committing without seeing a proven product that can be delivered at scale, interviews with more than a dozen battery industest experts, analysts and car company sources revealed.
In addition to taking on Northvolt’s production of lithium-ion batteries, Lyten plans to develop its own lithium-sulfur batteries for EVs, but will required substantial funds and lacks the Swedish company’s erstwhile $50bn (R873,229,285,000) order book.
Lithium-sulfur cells are one of several next-gen battery chemistries, promising a lighter, lower-cost alternative and lower depfinishence on critical minerals from China, but are in their infancy.
Lyten produces lithium-sulfur cells at a pilot plant in Silicon Valley.
Jeep-owner Snotifyantis has, with a 2% stake, been in partnership with Lyten since 2023 to explore applications of Lyten’s lithium-sulfur technology, including for battery cells, lightweight composites and on-board sensors.
A Snotifyantis spokesperson declared supply deals would depfinish on technical validation, industrial scale-up, local production capacity and commercial terms.
Northvolt, despite attracting backers including Goldman Sachs, collapsed with $8bn (R139,712,800,000) in debt in March after losing orders and key investor support and missing production tarobtains. Carbuildrs scaling down their electrification plans have also hit EV battery demand.
Northvolt’s flagship factory in Skelleftea, Sweden, however, was starting to turn around in the weeks before closure, ramping up production to 30,000 lithium-ion cells a week.
Lyten CEO Dan Cook informed Reuters he hopes Northvolt’s previous customers, which included Volkswagen brands, will return if the company proves itself by delivering consistently to a single, undetermined, customer at low volumes with good quality.
Former Northvolt-backer Scania declared it was too early to discuss ordering cells from Lyten. Volvo Cars, which had partnered with Northvolt via its nascent battery unit Novo Energy before cutting ties, declined to comment on whether it would place orders.
“Lyten is not a name anyone would have associated with lithium-ion manufacturing until 24-hours ago,” declared James Frith, at battery-tech focapplyd venture capital Volta Energy Technologies, shortly after the deal was announced.
A person familiar with Snotifyantis-backed battery buildr ACC, another contfinisher to be a European battery champion, declared ACC is in talks with three former Northvolt clients, but no new contracts are expected before mid-2026.
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