Battery giant Northvolt raises another $1.2B

Swedish battery giant Northvolt added $1.2 billion in funding from BlackRock and Canadian institutional investors, bringing the round's total to $2.3 billion in convertible notes.

Why it matters: The chunky raise is bankrolling an expansion to North American shores.

State of play: Northvolt is aggressively expanding to become the go-to supplier outside China for energy storage systems and electric vehicle batteries.

• China controls roughly 75% of the world's battery cell manufacturing capacity and 90% of anode and electrolyte production, per BloombergNEF.
• Northvolt has rapidly built factories in Europe, with more on the way there and overseas.

Driving the news: BlackRock, the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and OMERS led Northvolt's $1.2 billion raise.

• Baillie Gifford, GIC, Goldman Sachs, Swedbank Robur, Volkswagen and Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises participated, per Reuters.

Of note: Northvolt is calling the round an extension to $1.1 billion it raised last summer.

• The company says it's raised $9 billion in equity and debt to date — and has $55 billion in orders for EV batteries and other products.

👀 What we're watching: Northvolt has a site in San Leandro, Calif., and expects to announce a new multibillion-dollar battery factory in Canada this year.

• Meanwhile, Northvolt was preparing for an IPO that would reportedly value the company at more than $20 billion.