Volvo Car Group intends to establish a 50/50 joint venture with Northvolt to develop and produce more sustainable batteries, tailored to power the next generation of pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars.

As a first step, Volvo Car Group and Northvolt aim to set up a research and development centre in Sweden that will begin operations in 2022, specifically developed for use in Volvo and Polestar cars.

The planned joint venture will also establish a new gigafactory in Europe with a potential capacity of up to 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. The new gigafactory, planned to be powered by 100 percent clean energy, is expected to employ around 3,000 people and production is scheduled to start in 2026. The location of the new plant is yet to be decided.

As part of the plans, Volvo Car Group also looks to source 15 GWh of battery cells per year from the existing Northvolt Ett battery plant in Skellefteå, Sweden starting in 2024.

The partnership and joint venture are subject to final negotiation and agreements between the parties, including board approval.

Northvolt is proud to become Volvo Car Group's exclusive battery cell production partner in Europe

Carl-Erik Lagercrantz, CEO of Vargas and Chairman of Northvolt, commentes:‍

“Northvolt continues to enable Europe’s transition towards electrification. We aim to produce state of the art, and the world’s most sustainable, batteries. And we’re proud to become Volvo Car Group’s exclusive battery cell production partner in Europe.”