Based on photos and artist renderings found online, it's difficult to determine what was actually built on Northvolt's battery plant site southeast of Montreal. Perhaps not much, and now Quebec taxpayers could be out hundreds of millions of dollars already shelled out as the Swedish company mulls bankruptcy."Northvolt has been discussing the possibility of bankruptcy protection in the United States as one of several options for the cash-strapped company to survive," reported Reuters.According to the National Post, Ontario's pension plans and Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt have significant investments in Northvolt, although the amount is unknown."Northvolt has in recent months gone from being Europe's best shot at a home-grown electric vehicle battery champion to racing to stay afloat by slimming down, hobbled by production problems, the loss of a major customer and trouble raising more cash,"reported Reuters.As the Government of Canada under Justin Trudeau lauded the benefits of electric vehicles (EV) as a means of fighting climate change, promising to throw billions at various projects to build batteries, automakers around the world were scaling back or eliminating EV production."Now the hype is dwindling, and companies are again cheering consumer choice," reported CNBC. "Automakers from Ford and GM, to Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans.""Even U.S. EV leader Tesla, which is estimated to have accounted for 55% of EV sales in the country in 2023, is bracing for what may be a notably lower rate of growth."Canada has also agreed to provide approximately $13 billion in subsidies and a $700 million grant to help Volkswagen to build a North American battery plant."Volkswagen is considering closing key German plants and ending a long-standing job security scheme," said a report by Automotive Manufacturing Solutions."This move comes as the automaker struggles with insufficient electric vehicle demand, reduced government subsidies, and the push for substantial cost savings."
Based on photos and artist renderings found online, it's difficult to determine what was actually built on Northvolt's battery plant site southeast of Montreal. Perhaps not much, and now Quebec taxpayers could be out hundreds of millions of dollars already shelled out as the Swedish company mulls bankruptcy."Northvolt has been discussing the possibility of bankruptcy protection in the United States as one of several options for the cash-strapped company to survive," reported Reuters.According to the National Post, Ontario's pension plans and Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt have significant investments in Northvolt, although the amount is unknown."Northvolt has in recent months gone from being Europe's best shot at a home-grown electric vehicle battery champion to racing to stay afloat by slimming down, hobbled by production problems, the loss of a major customer and trouble raising more cash,"reported Reuters.As the Government of Canada under Justin Trudeau lauded the benefits of electric vehicles (EV) as a means of fighting climate change, promising to throw billions at various projects to build batteries, automakers around the world were scaling back or eliminating EV production."Now the hype is dwindling, and companies are again cheering consumer choice," reported CNBC. "Automakers from Ford and GM, to Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans.""Even U.S. EV leader Tesla, which is estimated to have accounted for 55% of EV sales in the country in 2023, is bracing for what may be a notably lower rate of growth."Canada has also agreed to provide approximately $13 billion in subsidies and a $700 million grant to help Volkswagen to build a North American battery plant."Volkswagen is considering closing key German plants and ending a long-standing job security scheme," said a report by Automotive Manufacturing Solutions."This move comes as the automaker struggles with insufficient electric vehicle demand, reduced government subsidies, and the push for substantial cost savings."
