Swedish battery maker Northvolt is reportedly gearing up for an IPO as it plans to build more gigafactories across Europe to meet the burgeoning demand for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage.

According to reports by the Financial Times, the company could be worth $20bn on listing.

Northvolt is a leader in lithium battery production but made the headlines recently when it announced the development of sodium-ion batteries.

Why is the Northvolt IPO important?

Swedish unicorn Northvolt is one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers and counts companies such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volkswagen Group as their clients.

The group has received over $55 billion in orders since it was founded in 2016 and employs 5,000 people across Sweden, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the US and Canada.

The Northvolt IPO is important because it will demonstrate investor appetite for electric vehicle and renewable power storage technology at a time when the pace of growth in EV sales is starting to slow, and major wind projects are canned.

The anticipation around the Northvolt IPO ratcheted up a notch or two last week after the company announced the development of 160 watt-hours per kilogram sodium-ion batteries designed for low-cost energy storage across India, the Middle East and Africa.

Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, said, “the world has put high hopes on sodium-ion, and I’m very pleased to say that we’ve developed a technology that will enable its widespread deployment to accelerate the energy transition.”

“It’s an important milestone for Northvolt’s market proposition, but battery technology like this is also crucial to reach global sustainability goals, by making electrification more cost-efficient, sustainable and accessible worldwide.”

Northvolt Sodium Batteries

Northvolt has developed a sodium-ion battery free from nickel, cobalt, graphite, manganese, and, significantly, lithium.

Northvolt’s breakthrough sodium-ion batteries are based on hard carbon anodes and Prussian White cathodes. Prussian White is made from sodium, iron, nitrogen and carbon.

The absence of lithium and other critical metals will reduce reliance on China and make battery storage for renewable power much cheaper.

Sodium-ion batteries can be made using locally sourced materials instead of expensive imported critical metals, lowering overall cost.

The company is still a way off commercialising batteries for use in electric vehicles. Still, as soon as the energy density is improved, some hope sodium batteries will overtake lithium in electric vehicle applications.

Northvolt is not the only company developing sodium-ion technology. Chinese EV maker CATL and London-listed AMTE Power are among many companies working on their own sodium power storage solutions.

When will Northvolt IPO?

No date has been set for the Northvolt IPO, although it has been widely reported the company is eyeing 2024 for their listing.

The Financial Times reported a person familiar with the matter said: “they want to be ready to go, whenever the market conditions are right. They want everything in place.”

IPOs of any size take time to prepare, and the company will want to wait for more favourable market conditions.

Rightmove was the FTSE 100’s best performer in early trading on Monday after the property portal said they were increasing guidance for key revenue metrics as new products show signs of promise.

The UK’s largest property portal now expects average revenue per advertiser (ARPA) to hit £112-116, exceeding previous guidance of £103-£105. The upgrade comes as overall revenue growth continues tracking ahead of expectations at 8-10%.

Rightmove shares were 5% higher at the time of writing.

Demand from new home developers for Rightmove’s advertising products has driven the majority of ARPA growth. Estate agents continue to use mix of Rightmove’s branding and lead-generation offering.

Despite broader uncertainty in the housing market, Rightmove’s market share and network effect continue to support growth. Underlying operating profit is now seen climbing 7-8% for the year.

The portal’s resilient performance has been seen since amid issues weighing on the property market, and investors will be encouraged by the upgrades to ARPA even as UK transactions slip.

Rightmove was also upbeat on non-core activities like commercial real estate. The group’s fledgling mortgages remains on track to meet targets and last week saw the launch of Rightmove’s first mortgage broker offering.

Johan Svanstrom, CEO of Rightmove commented on the results:

“The momentum that we reported in July has continued through the third quarter and beyond. The strength of our performance against an uncertain market backdrop demonstrates the strength of the UK consumer affinity to our platform, the value of the established network effect of our business model, the depth and richness of our consumer data, and the value that our customers place in our products to build their businesses.”

“It also illustrates the resilience of our business model in all phases of the property market cycle. We continue to look to the future with confidence and remain focused on the delivery of our strategic plans, both in our core business and in strategic growth areas. We look forward to providing more detail at this afternoon’s investor day about our plans to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities ahead.”

Internationally known video game label Team 17 shares dropped on Friday, as the company stated in the trading update that some of its games are not meeting the sales target.

The gaming company’s shares were down by 41.08% at the time of writing on Friday.

Team17 is known for games such as “Worms,” “Miami Chase,” and “Yooka-Laylee.”

The label has not specified which games are underperforming.

The company’s trading update explains that:

“Despite this overall robust revenue performance, certain titles within the Games Label are not meeting internal expectations, resulting in a less favourable mix between higher margin own-IP titles and third-party titles (with higher royalty payments) than anticipated. In addition, the group was too slow to address some project overspends and has faced some delays in implementing key cost initiatives at Team 17 Games Label. These are now in advanced stages and will continue to bring benefits into next year.”

It is further stated that Team17 management is happy with the performance of two games in particular, Astragon and StoryToys.

However, following the H1 results and considering the changes in the post-Covid-19 landscape, the management is reassessing the cost structure of Team17 Games Label.

Additionally, it is evaluating various titles, the update states, both in development and already launched.

This assessment is anticipated to lead to impairments recognised in FY23.

Furthermore, Team17 now anticipates achieving a full-year adjusted EBITDA of at least £28.5m, including potential non-cash impairments on titles of up to £11.5m.

“It may not be game over for Team 17, but the game developer’s profit warning will definitely give any investors pause. While revenue will be modestly higher than expectations, earnings are expected to be lower than anticipated and fall materially from 2022 levels” , said AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Failing to control overspending will not do anything for the firm’s credibility in the market, and the decision to review games in development shows how this market has gotten tougher now that people aren’t stuck indoors, with gaming representing one of the few possible escapes from the drudgery of lockdown.”