The Inside Story of How a Tiny California Startup Grabbed Europe’s Battery Giant

Until last year, things looked pretty good for Northvolt, a Sweden-based battery startup that Europeans saw as their answer to Tesla. The company had vacuumed up $13 billion in capital from largely blue-chip investors and taken $55 billion in battery orders from major carmakers like BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo. Northvolt executives spoke of going public at a valuation of $20 billion.

The collapse of the 5,000-person company came quickly, amounting to one of the largest tech failures ever. In March, Northvolt declared bankruptcy, saying it had burned through all but $30 million in cash. Its failure was mostly its own doing, but it coincided with a big downturn in the battery industry. No buyer emerged for the company.