The battery sector is booming and Zeekr is launching its IPO round

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The battery sector continues to attract capital.

Take a look at Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt. The company has raised approximately $1.2 billion in convertible notes from BlackRock and various Canadian pension plans. Round participants included Goldman Sachs, Volkswagen, Baillie Gifford, Swedbank Robur, Singapore GIC and Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.

This money will be used to build new factories in North America and Europe.

Northvolt has been struggling a bit for the past few years, even before the big battery boom really took off. The company has raised $9 billion in debt and equity since 2017, including $1.1 billion in convertible notes last year. The company has also secured over $55 billion in orders from customers including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo and Volkswagen.

The Northvolt deal gives me another chance to publish a series of articles we wrote earlier this month on the one-year anniversary of the Cut Inflation Act, including an overview of how startups have benefited and a map that tracks the entire battery. factories in North America. Once Northvolt has decided on a location for this next plant, we will update the map.

Other offers that caught my attention…

Accure, a startup that uses AI to predict lithium-ion battery failure, raised $7.8 million in a Series A2 round led by Blue Bear Capital and HSBC Asset Management with participation from Riverstone Holdings and Capnamic Ventures.

Channel19, a startup that has developed software for refrigerated appliances...