This morning, Shift is first to report that Northvolt is considering Canada as a possible site for an EV battery plant.

The OMERS–backed, Stockholm-based company—by some measures, the best-funded private startup in Europe—told The Logic that it is currently doing a North American site study for a potential gigafactory, “analyzing multiple possible locations in the U.S. and Canada.” 

As of last year, Northvolt had over US$55 billion in contracts to build electric-vehicle batteries for automakers including Volkswagen and Volvo. Founded by former Tesla executives, Northvolt’s technology focuses on sustainable battery production. It has invented batteries that can last through more charging cycles, use more renewable resources like wood, and have lower carbon footprints. Vale Canada is one of the suppliers Northvolt has tapped for low-carbon nickel.

The Financial Times reported on March 26 that the company was in talks with a number of banks to raise more than US$5 billion of debt financing. It is currently building a second gigafactory in Sweden with Volvo, and the pink newspaper reported that Northvolt would decide in April whether to build its third plant in Germany or in the U.S., amid expectations that in America it could get subsidies worth at least €8 billion per factory. 

Public records show top Northvolt executives lobbied the Canadian government between January 27 and March 28 about “exploring the opportunity to build and operate battery production in North America,” and asked what the federal government could offer in potential policy, regulatory and financial support. Federal records also show lobbying by Northvolt’s California subsidiary, Cuberg.

Northvolt told The Logic the public filings don’t mean any investment decisions have been made. Though the company’s lobbying disclosures suggest it expects to receive funding from the federal and Quebec governments this fiscal year, spokesperson Anders Thor, said in an email that “does not in any way indicate that we have chosen a site and are confirmed to receive funding.” 

Laurie Bouchard, a spokesperson for Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, did not directly answer questions about government funding for a potential Northvolt facility in Canada. “It is good to see that our government’s investments are attracting the attention of automakers and companies from around the world,” she wrote in an email.

Northvolt’s potential interest comes amid the federal government’s ongoing courtship of global automotive companies like Volkswagen, which last month finalized plans to build a gigafactory in Ontario. Volvo, another Northvolt customer, is reportedly preparing to ramp up its Quebec bus-building operations with a $2.2-billion order footed by the federal and provincial government. The Quebec subsidiary Novabus said in an email to The Logic this week it could not confirm that report.

Evan Pivnick, clean-energy program manager at Clean Energy Canada, said the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act’s “lucrative” incentives for battery manufacturing has raised questions about how much Canada should compete for those investments. 

Pivnick declined to speculate about individual companies’ investment plans, but said nonetheless that “a company like Northvolt is really interesting.” 

“They are putting a huge premium on [environmental, social and governance factors], on battery recycling,” he said. “Canada might be a really interesting place where it’s the right company with the right approach that lines up with our competitive advantages.” 

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