Goldman downgrades Freyr Battery, sees battery surplus in 2025

Goldman Sachs analyst Philipp Konig downgraded Freyr Battery to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $10, down from $14. The analyst now expects the global battery market to enter oversupply from 2025 onward, driven by excess capacity in China, where the firm’s analysts expect overcapacity of 800GWh by 2025, enough to serve 2.5-times Europe’s demand. The European market will face intensifying pressure from Chinese lithium ferrophosphate oversupply, while the U.S. “could be more protected,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. Freyr is set to start operating its gigafactories in Norway and the U.S. in 2025-2026, the first years of oversupply, contends Goldman. It remains constructive on the company’s ability to ramp initial production lines on time but thinks upcoming pricing negotiations with potential customers may prove challenging.