Norsk Hydro buys remaining shares of Hydrovolt

Norsk Hydro, an aluminum production and energy generating company based in Norway, says it has acquired the remaining shares in battery recycling and battery materials firm Hydrovolt.

Hydro says it has signed an agreement with Northvolt AB through which it will acquire the 28 percent of shares in Hydrovolt that had been owned by Sweden-based Northvolt.

Hydro describes Hydrovolt as a battery recycling and raw materials company established in 2020 as a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Hydro and Northvolt.

Since that JV was founded, however, Northvolt has encountered financial setbacks, including a bankruptcy filing announced last November. “Since the second half of 2024 Hydro has been financing Hydrovolt’s operations alone,” states the aluminum producer.

Hydro says it is “actively exploring new partnerships to secure the long-term financing and growth of Hydrovolt,” which operates an electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling plant in Fredrikstad, Norway.

The aluminum producer says it is “confident in Hydrovolt’s potential and ability to become a leading European player in battery recycling, and that it remains attractive to the right partner.”

The plant in Fredrikstad is engaged in recycling EV and industrial batteries and recovering secondary raw materials, including black mass, for battery production, says Hydro.

While Northvolt is no longer a co-owner of the battery recycling plant, which goes by the name Revolt, Hydro ways it will “continue commercial collaboration” with the Swedish firm, “as two of the earliest movers and complementary players in the European battery recycling value chain.”

Hydro says it expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of this year, pending regulatory and legal approvals.