One Northvolt Bidder Took it All
After "outstanding" interest in the first auction after Cuberg, Northvolt canceled the remaining two. Instead, San Jose-based Lyten is taking over the facility lease and acquiring the remaining equipment. Northvolt says all former Cuberg employees have now been paid.
The battery manufacturer Lyten plans to convert the 119,000-square-foot San Leandro facility into a lithium-sulfur battery production site using the existing equipment.
“The majority of Cuberg’s equipment was sold to Lyten outside the auction process. Cuberg has fulfilled all obligations to its employees, including paying their salaries,” writes Northvolt’s head of press, Erik Zsiga, in an email to SVNB.
Northvolt had initially planned three auctions to liquidate Cuberg’s assets. The first auction, held in late September, attracted “outstanding interest,” according to the auction firm Silicon Valley Disposition. Still, Northvolt canceled the remaining auctions without explaining the decision to the firm.
According to an earlier article published in The Information, Cuberg's director of human resources, Eric Roth, messaged the former employees on Oct. 25 that Northvolt had "quit funding us," forcing the company to sell assets to pay salaries.
Cuberg, which Northvolt acquired in 2021, was recognized for its lithium-metal battery technology aimed at the aviation industry. The expanded San Leandro facility was inaugurated in February but closed just six months later.
The San Leandro facility is near Lyten’s existing site in San Jose. Lyten plans to invest up to $20 million in 2025 to modernize both locations, with the goal of producing up to 200 megawatt-hours of lithium-sulfur batteries annually. Commercial production at the San Leandro facility is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.
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