Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles says it has enough cash to support operations for only a week

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Northvolt, the Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US, dealing a blow to Europe’s hopes that its most developed battery player would reduce western carmakers’ reliance on Chinese rivals.

Northvolt said it had enough cash to support operations for only about a week and it had secured $100m (£80m) in new financing for the bankruptcy process. It said operations would continue as normal during the bankruptcy.