This significant acquisition includes Northvolt Ett in Skellfteå, Sweden, Northvolt Labs in Västerås, Sweden, and the Northvolt Drei plant in Heide, Germany. In addition, Lyten has acquired all remaining Northvolt intellectual property (IP), having previously secured Northvolt’s Polish battery energy storage system manufacturing facility in Gdansk in July – Europe’s largest BESS production plant. Previously, Lyten acquired Northvolt’s Cuberg battery manufacturing facility in California in November 2024.

Lyten plans to establish an Li-S battery manufacturing plant at Northvolt Drei, near Heide in Schleswig-Holstein, with 15 GWh capacity initially. Lyten is also committed to purchasing Northvolt Six in Quebec, Canada, which is constructing a 15 GWh Li-S battery manufacturing facility.

Established in 2015, Lyten currently manufactures Li-S batteries in San Jose, California, where it has over 540 patents, and is targeting the rapidly growing drone and defence markets. The Li-S battery is being integrated in Chrysler’s concept electric vehicle and is also set for use on the International Space Station in coming months.

Lyten Chairman and co-Founder Lars Herlitz says: ‘The demand for European and North American made batteries is growing’. He believes that the combination of Northvolt’s manufacturing assets and low-cost clean energy with Lyten’s Li-S battery technology ‘creates the right formula to fulfil Europe and North America’s battery manufacturing ambitions’.

Li-S batteries are described as offering higher energy density, lighter weight and lower cost than traditional lithium-ion batteries, due to more abundant materials. That, it is said, makes them suitable for applications where weight, cost and safety are critical, such as drones, electric aviation and electric vehicles.

Largest UK BESS site powers up

In other news, the UK’s largest BESS system, developed by Statera Energy and located at Thurrock, Essex, has come online. The landmark 300 MW battery storage facility is capable of powering up to 680,000 homes for over two hours, responding to changes on the grid due to renewable energy fluctuations and delivering full output of up to 600 MWh within seconds.

Thurrock Storage is seen to play a ‘significant role in maintaining UK energy security’, being located strategically close to London, north of the former Tilbury coal power station, and enhancing grid stability and resilience. ‘Increasing BESS capacity is essential for supporting the grid when renewable generation, such as solar and wind, is low or changes quickly’, notes Tom Vernon, Statera Energy CEO and Founder.

Major BESS fund supercharges battery manufacture in Australia

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the publicly-funded Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched the $500mn Battery Breakthrough Initiative (BBI) to support and stimulate battery manufacture in Australia.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller recognises that ‘Energy storage is a critical technology for our renewable energy future… BBI will enhance Australia’s battery manufacturing capability, improve supply chain resilience and battery manufacturing processes, and foster innovation’.

The initiative will focus on funding key areas of development, including support of projects relating to the production of ‘active materials’ for cathodes, anodes and electrolytes; innovative battery cell manufacture; and battery pack assembly. It will, it is said, be central to the National Battery Strategy programme, designed in consultation with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources and a range of stakeholders.