MONTREAL — A Quebec Superior Court judge has declared insolvent the North American branch of battery maker Northvolt as the provincial government looks to recover $260 million owed to it by the company.

Justice Janet Michelin on Friday placed Northvolt Batteries North America under creditor protection following a request earlier in the week from the Quebec government.

Northvolt laid off its entire workforce on Thursday following Economy Minister Christine Fréchette’s announcement on Tuesday that the government would provide no more funding for the company’s planned electric-vehicle battery plant near Montreal.

The court decision on Friday will allow the company to rehire about 15 employees to maintain the site where the factory was to be built.

The province lost a $270-million investment in Northvolt’s Swedish parent company when it declared bankruptcy in the spring. The government subsequently signed an agreement with the North American subsidiary to give it time to find new buyers or investors. But Quebec says Northvolt received no binding offers by a Sept. 1 deadline, and decided to pull the plug on the project.

The government is now trying to recover a $240-million loan issued to Northvolt in 2023 to allow it to purchase the land for the plant. It says the debt is now worth $260 million with interest.

On Friday, Fréchette’s office confirmed that the province has already recuperated nearly $200 million from bank accounts belonging to Northvolt that were frozen after its Swedish parent company declared bankruptcy in March. The government also wants the court to authorize a process for the sale or repossession of the land.

The battery project was once hailed as the largest private investment in Quebec’s history, but construction on the plant never got beyond preparatory stages.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.