Volvo Group Acquires Proterra For $210 Million

The temper across the canapé desk at CleanTechnica was somber in August after we realized that Proterra had filed for chapter. We prefer to suppose the EV revolution will ship all those that aspire to promoting electrical autos to the promised land of excessive gross sales and massive income, however that’s sadly not the case.

Simply as there are lots of of automotive firms which have come and gone since Karl Benz constructed his first automotive (many older readers are nonetheless dismayed that stalwarts equivalent to Pontiac and Plymouth have left the stage), there will likely be many electrical car producers who will fade into oblivion as properly. However we had excessive hopes for Proterra, we actually did.

Right here was an progressive firm that started off making electrical buses utilizing carbon fiber for low weight and sturdiness. It turned a charging and battery specialist which helped those that needed to transition to electrical autos work out find out how to make it occur.

Along with delivering dozens of its progressive electrical buses to the metropolis of Miami, it collaborated with Valley Transportation in Santa Clara County, California, to create a photo voltaic microgrid able to charging a number of electrical buses. It provided Thomas Constructed Buses with battery packs for 200 electrical college buses and agreed to be the battery provider for Volta and Lightning eMotors electrical vans.

Manufacturing Batteries In California

Proterra’s new battery manufacturing line is co-located within the firm’s EV bus manufacturing facility in Los Angeles County.

Proterra opened a battery manufacturing heart in Los Angeles that put a precedence on giving internal metropolis residents a chance to be taught new expertise that might qualify them for good paying jobs within the electrical car {industry}. These employees are all members of United Metal Employees Native 675.

At the moment, the corporate stated, “Along with its transit enterprise, Proterra supplies its road-tested and confirmed electrical car know-how and experience to different heavy- and medium-duty business car producers via the corporate’s Proterra Powered program.”

“Proterra battery techniques have been chosen by world-class OEMs to introduce 100% battery-electric autos, together with supply vans, electrical college buses, coach buses, and low-floor cutaway shuttle buses. Thus far, Proterra Powered has helped world-class OEMs like Thomas Constructed Buses, Van Hool, Freightliner Customized Chassis Company (FCCC), Bustech, and Optimum-EV introduce 100% battery-electric autos which can be powered by Proterra electrical car know-how.”

With all that good karma on the basis of the corporate, how might it fail? However fail, it did. The gozoutas have been simply greater than the gozintas, which meant Proterra at all times wanted to borrow more cash to remain afloat. In September, the corporate admitted its enterprise mannequin was simply not sustainable and filed for chapter safety.

A Quiet Announcement

In a terse press launch dated November 10, 2023, Volvo Group stated, “Proterra Inc. and Proterra Working Firm Inc. are in a voluntary Chapter 11 chapter course of within the US. Volvo Group has been chosen because the profitable bidder in an public sale for the enterprise and belongings of the Proterra Powered enterprise unit at a purchase order value of $210 million.”

“The transaction between Proterra Inc. and Proterra Working Firm as sellers and Volvo is topic to approval by the chapter court docket within the US. As well as, closing of the transaction, which is predicted early 2024, will likely be topic to merger clearance and sure different circumstances.

“The belongings to be acquired embrace a improvement heart for battery modules and packs in California and an meeting manufacturing unit in South Carolina. With this acquisition, Volvo Group will complement the present, and speed up its future battery-electric street map. The transaction has no materials influence on the Volvo Group monetary efficiency.”

Proterra filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety — which is successfully a self-administered chapter continuing for restructuring a enterprise — in August. At the moment, it spoke of a “strategic initiative to strengthen [its] monetary place and sharpen [its] know-how focus.”

Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce stated, “Proterra is on the forefront of the improvements which can be driving business car electrification. We all know we’re constructing industry-leading merchandise that our clients need and wish. The muse we’ve got constructed has set the stage for decarbonization throughout the business car {industry} as an entire, and we acknowledge the nice potential in all of our product choices to allow this essential transformation. That is why we’re taking motion to separate every product line via the Chapter 11 reorganization course of to maximise their impartial potential.”

“Whereas our best-in-class EV and battery applied sciences have set an {industry} customary, we’ve got confronted numerous market and macroeconomic headwinds, which have impacted our potential to effectively scale all of our alternatives concurrently. As business autos speed up in direction of electrification, we sit up for sharpening our focus as a number one EV battery know-how provider for the advantage of our many stakeholders,” stated Joyce. Proterra reported {hardware} bottlenecks in the summertime of 2022 and named the supply of components as one of many largest challenges.

Chapter 11 insolvency proceedings within the US enable an organization to reorganize whereas defending it from authorized actions by debtors till the reorganization is full. If an organization is bancrupt and sees no foundation for profitable continued operation, it terminates these operations in keeping with the principles of Chapter 7. Within the wake of the 2009 monetary disaster, Common Motors additionally filed for Chapter 11 chapter proceedings.

Proterra went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger to facilitate entry to investor funds. On the time, the corporate was valued at $1.6 billion, together with debt. On the final shut of buying and selling earlier than the Chapter 11 chapter announcement, Proterra nonetheless had a market worth of $362 million.

Proterra Manufacturing facility In South Carolina

Proterra simply ramped up manufacturing at a brand new battery meeting plant in Greer, South Carolina, in January of this yr. The corporate operates one other plant in California. In each instances, cylindrical cells from LG Power Answer are processed into battery packs utilized in Proterra’s electrical buses and by third occasion clients. Since enterprise operations will proceed, the client tasks talked about stay unaffected for now.

One of many curiosities on this association is that Volvo Group is owned by Geely, a Chinese language producer of electrical autos that features such manufacturers as Zeeker, Geometry, Hyperlink ‘N Firm, London Electrical Automobile Firm, Lotus Automobiles,  Polestar, Proton, and Volvo Automobiles. Geely shares usually commerce within the $1.00 to $2.00 vary on NASDAQ, which could recommend the corporate has restricted market worth. And but it has managed to assemble a large presence on the planet of electrical autos.

We will likely be curious to see how Geely leverages its newfound acquisition. Volvo Group manufactures vans, buses, development gear, and energy options for marine and industrial purposes. In different phrases, Proterra ought to be an ideal match for its enterprise.

There may be at all times the likelihood that at some point, Geely will escape of its low public profile and we’ll be taught it is without doubt one of the success tales of the marker transition from vehicles and vans with inner combustion engines to battery powered autos. And Proterra will likely be acknowledged as an essential a part of that success. Stranger issues have occurred within the auto enterprise.