COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Norwegian metals maker Hydro will reduce its stake in graphite materials company Vianode and stop providing funding for the group, it said on Thursday, joining other Nordic companies in scaling back their battery making ambitions.
Vianode, originally owned by metals groups Hydro and Elkem along with private equity group Altor, in 2022 announced plans to build a plant providing anode graphite for two million electric vehicles a year.
Elkem exited the joint venture in March this year and Hydro on Thursday said it had agreed to cut its stake to 19.9% from 30% and would leave the board of directors.
“Hydro has decided to allocate its capital towards projects supporting its strategic priorities towards 2030 and will therefore no longer provide further capital to Vianode,” the aluminium maker’s statement said.
Vianode did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Altor declined to comment.
Altor last month exercised a put option requiring Hydro to buy an additional 20% stake, which would leave each group with 50% ownership in Vianode, but the two have since agreed to cancel the transaction, Hydro said.
Instead, Hydro has sold a 10.1% stake to Altor for an undisclosed sum.
Hydro on Thursday booked a 956 million Norwegian crown ($87.2 million) impairment on its Vianor investment.
Swedish battery maker Northvolt has also been scaling back its rapid expansion and last month said it would focus on large-scale cell manufacturing while reducing costs and exploring future strategic partnerships.
($1 = 10.9647 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Louise Breusch RasmussenEditing by David Goodman)
