Northvolt shareholder Scania has secured additional battery cell supply

Swedish truckmaker Scania, a shareholder and customer of struggling battery maker Northvolt, told Reuters on Monday it had secured an alternative supply of battery cells as part of an effort to diversify its supply chain.

Northvolt, once considered Europe's best hope for an electric vehicle battery champion, filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November and is seeking to raise cash and restructure its debt.

Reuters in January reported that Scania had stepped in to help Northvolt with the day-to-day running of its flagship plant in northern Sweden in an effort to boost quality and output at the electric vehicle battery maker.

On Monday, Scania and its German owner Traton reported results for 2024, where they said the Swedish company was not on track to meet its 2025 target of a 20% reduction in scope 3 emissions, meaning trucks in use by its customers.

"Our ramp up of battery electric trucks did not move as quickly as we had intended," Scania said in its report.

The Swedish truckmaker had relied on Northvolt as its sole supplier, but Scania's CEO said last year that it was in talks with other battery cell makers about potentially supplying its future electric fleet.

Scania CEO Christian Levin said on Monday in a written comment sent to Reuters that the company is currently receiving more battery cells from Northvolt than it is using in its own truck making, but was still diversifying its supply.

"We have accelerated our supplier strategy and have secured future deliveries of battery cells," Levin said.

A Scania spokesperson declined to name any additional suppliers.

A Northvolt spokesperson declined to comment.

The truckmaker said that it had delivered a total of 77 zero-emission vehicles in the fourth quarter, and 266 in total for the full year of 2024.

"Our ramp up of battery electric trucks did not move as quickly as we had intended, due partly to supply chain issues ... The ramp-up delay in turn affected our progress in decarbonisation," the company wrote in its annual report.