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Natron’s liquidation shows why the US isn’t ready to make its own batteries
The sodium-ion battery startup went from announcing a $1.4 billion factory to filing for liquidation in just over a year. Natron's troubled journey illustrates the challenges in making batteries in the U.S.
Natron is being carved up through a process known as “assignment for the benefit of creditors,” an alternative to Chapter 7 bankruptcy that could result in a speedy — and quiet — sale of assets that forgoes the court proceedings that many liquidations follow. Earlier this year, Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt also filed for bankruptcy in its home country, ending the journey for Europe’s best chance at a homegrown competitor. If the U.S. or Europe is to succeed in creating domestic challengers to the Asian battery giants, it’ll take sustained government support for a decade or more, not the whipsawing that has defined the last 15 years.
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