Ailing Swedish electric car battery maker Northvolt said Tuesday it was selling a business unit making heavy industry battery packs, with truck manufacturer Scania confirming it was the buyer.
Established in 2018, Northvolt Systems Industrial "is a developer and manufacturer of battery systems for the heavy industry and off-highway market segments," Northvolt said.
The unit employs "approximately 300 people in a battery systems prototyping facility located in Stockholm, Sweden, and Northvolt's production facility in Gdansk, Poland. "
Northvolt did not disclose the price nor name the buyer, saying only it had signed a deal with "an unnamed leading industrial group."
A Scania spokesman however confirmed to AFP that they were the buyer but also declined to specify the price and noted that the deal would need regulatory approval.
Northvolt, founded in 2016, has been seen as a cornerstone of European attempts to catch up with Asia and the United States in the production of battery cells, the crucial component of zero-emission cars.
Europe accounts for just three percent of global battery cell production, but has set its sights on 25 percent of the market by the end of the decade.
But the battery maker has struggled with strained finances and applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in late November to enable it to restructure its debt and reorganise its business.
The battery maker said in US filings that it owed $5.8 billion.
In September last year, Northvolt said it was slashing 1,600 jobs -- a quarter of its staff -- and suspending the expansion of its Skelleftea site in northern Sweden as it struggles with strained finances and a slowdown in demand.
Northvolt said the sale of the industrial unit "follows from decisions taken as part of Northvolt's strategic review, which aimed at focusing the company around its core business of large-scale cell manufacturing."