Volkswagen Group and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division lead a $1.1bn equity capital raise in Northvolt alongside BMW Group, AMF, Folksam Group, ​and IMAS Foundation to enable Europe’s first homegrown gigafactories for lithium-ion batteries. The European Investment Bank has approved in-principle a $400m loan as a part of the total funding for Northvolt Ett. Building construction work will commence in August with large-scale production estimated to begin in 2021. “Today is not only a great milestone for Northvolt, it also marks a key moment for Europe that clearly shows that we are ready to compete in the coming wave of electrification​ and that we will do so using battery cells which carry the lowest CO2 footprint possible,” Peter Carlsson, Northvolt Co-Founder and CEO .