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Files for bankruptcy at Swedish court

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Company was unable to secure enough cash

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Had struggled to ramp up production

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Debt of more than $8 bln earlier filing showed

(Adds background, detail, quote in paragraphs 4, 6, 9-11)

STOCKHOLM, March 12 (Reuters) - Northvolt, the Swedish

maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, said on Wednesday

it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, bringing to an end

Europe's best hope of developing a rival to major Asian EV

battery players.

Northvolt sought U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last

November as its cash pile dwindled, trying to secure funds that

would allow it to fix persistent problems in scaling up output

at its flagship plant in northern Sweden.

"The company was unable to secure the necessary financial

conditions to continue in its current form," the group, which

has over 5,000 employees, said in a statement.

Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter had reported on Tuesday that

Northvolt was on the brink of filing for bankruptcy and that the

board could decide the issue on Wednesday.

At the end of January this year its debt stood at more than

$8 billion across the nine Northvolt entities in the Chapter 11

process, previously released documents showed.

"A Swedish court-appointed trustee will now oversee the

process, including the sale of the business and its assets and

settlement of outstanding obligations," the company said in the

statement.

Europe had been hoping that Northvolt would reduce Western

carmakers' reliance on Chinese rivals such as battery maker CATL

and EV and battery maker BYD.

The company, whose motto was "make oil history", received

more than $10 billion in equity, debt and public financing since

its 2016 inception, counting Volkswagen, with a 21%

stake, and Goldman Sachs ( GS ), holding 19%, as its biggest owners.

Northvolt early last year clinched a $5 billion green loan

deal with a group of lenders, intended to pay for a large plant

expansion, but the funding was later cancelled as the company's

problems mounted.

German carmaker BMW cancelled a $2 billion order in June of

last year as the battery maker failed to deliver on a long-term

supply contract for battery cells signed in 2020.

Former Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, who stepped down

shortly after the Chapter 11 filing in November, said at the

time of his departure that the company needed up to $1.2 billion

to restore its business.