Volvo Cars bets on sodium-ion batteries by investing in Swedish startup Altris

Altris has developed a patented cathode material for use in sodium-ion batteries and announced a Series B funding round last year of around €14m, with investors that included shipping giant Maersk and battery maker Clarios.

Altris now says Volvo was also part of that funding round through its investment arm Volvo Cars Tech Fund, becoming the first automaker to partner with the startup.

"It's incredibly exciting to announce Volvo Cars' investment in our financing round and our collaboration," Altris' acting CEO Christer Bergquist tells Impact Loop.

The parties are entering a new collaboration with the long-term goal of developing sodium-ion battery applications in Volvo Cars' product portfolio. The focus is particularly on exploring how they can be used in battery energy storage systems (BESS).

However, they stressed that sodium-ion batteries are still an emerging technology and that there are no current plans to use them in Volvo’s electric vehicles.

“We believe (Altris’) technology has the potential to transform the battery market by providing more sustainable solutions, at a fraction of the cost,” says Ann-Sofie Ekberg, CEO at Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

Working towards production

By adding Volvo Cars to its list of owners alongside Clarios and Maersk, Bergquist says Altris now has strategic support across its key industry sectors: grid storage, automotive applications, and marine applications.

"Exactly what the collaboration (with Volvo) will lead to is something we'll determine together, but so far at Altris we've had two main focus areas: stationary energy storage and the low-voltage battery we've developed with Clarios. Now we have the opportunity to develop these areas further. We'll also explore how our other products can be integrated into Volvo's operations," Bergquist tells Impact Loop.

Altris is still in the product development stage, and still aims to bring more investors on board in their next funding round. Getting their product to market is still some way off, Bergquist says.

"Our timeline extends to 2026 for scaling up and production,” he says. "We feel we have good support from our strategic investors and are now working further with the financial ones. We've said we want to raise at least another 250 million SEK (about €23 million)."

Board changes

Altris has recently made several changes to its board with InnoEnergy, another investor, taking one seat through its Scandinavian head Lowina Lundström.

At the same time, the company's former CEO Martin Anderlind, who also has a background at Northvolt, has taken the role of chairman.

"Our ownership structure has changed in connection with the new share issue, which the board reflects," Bergquist says.

He adds that Ekberg will not join the board but will have an observer position.

In 2023, Altris had a very modest net turnover of 21,000 SEK (about €1,940), while making a loss of almost 40 million SEK (about €3.7m). Bergquist doesn't want to reveal the 2024 figures yet.

"We're currently working on the 2024 financial statements with the auditors and will be happy to come back to that question when it's complete," he says.