U.S. company Lyten reportedly plans to pay 60 million euros for the site of insolvent battery manufacturer Northvolt near Heide in the Dithmarschen district. This was reported by Der Spiegel and the dpa news agency. There has not yet been any official confirmation.
According to the reports, an agreement is said to have been reached with the KfW development bank, the German federal government and the Schleswig-Holstein state government. The Economics Ministry in Kiel is currently cautious in its response. A spokesperson said the state government remains in talks with Lyten. Next week, the state cabinet and two state parliamentary committees are expected to address the matter. Until then, the state government does not intend to provide further information.
The possible purchase price is politically relevant because the federal government and the state had to assume liability for a convertible bond after the insolvency of Northvolt’s parent company. The bond had a volume of 600 million euros and was backed equally by the federal government and Schleswig-Holstein.
Site plans remain smaller than Northvolt’s
Northvolt had originally announced plans to build a battery factory near Heide. At the time, about 3,000 jobs were discussed. After the parent company became insolvent, Schleswig-Holstein faced estimated losses of around 200 million euros.
Lyten expressed interest in the site in the summer of 2025. According to previous information, the company plans to build a battery cell factory, a battery storage facility and a data center there. The expected number of jobs is 1,000, well below Northvolt’s earlier plans.
As part of the planned takeover, the federal government and the state have already been able to secure 153 million euros. A sale of the property could bring in an additional mid-double-digit million-euro amount for the federal government and the state.
