Scania Growth Capital

Using online platforms, autonomy, electric and fuel-cell tech solutions to shape the future of trucking.

Truck Industry Tech

Based in Germany, Sennder offers an AI-powered platform called “SennOS” that connects commercial shippers with small freight carriers across 20+ countries in Europe. The company specializes in the full truckload (FTL) market and has a presence across Europe. Its “sennCONTROL” is a comprehensive 3PL+ control tower solution designed to optimize logistics networks, reduce costs, and enhance visibility. It integrates procurement and operations management, allowing companies to streamline their logistics and include real-time tracking, data analytics, and emissions reporting.As of July 2024, the company had 40,000+ carriers and 250,000+ registered vehicles in the platforms and was managing 50,000+ loads per month.Sennder’s acquisitions include 1) Everoad, a similar platform provider based in France (June 2020); 2) Uber Freight’s European business (September 2020); 3) Cars&amp;Cargo, a Dutch freight forwarder with operations across France and the Benelux countries (May 2021); and 4) European ground transportation assets of logistics company C.H. Robinson (July 2024) to further strengthen its digital logistics services industry position.Key Customers and partnershipsSennder’s customers include shippers such as AB InBev and Beam Suntory.Its product partnerships include 1) a joint venture (JV) with Poste Italiane, a logistics operator in Italy, to improve efficiency and provide full visibility of its trucks (July 2020; <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20063">extended in July 2023);</a> 2) Zeitfracht, a logistics company in Germany, to license SennOS SaaS platform (February 2021); 3) another JV called “JUNA” in partnership with Scania to offer electric truck solutions and freight matching across Europe <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23659">(November 2023);</a> and 4) logistics companies Mercitalia Logistics, FS Italiane Group, and Poste Italiane to offer intermodal transport solutions (March 2024).

Waabi is a Canadian startup that develops self-driving technology for middle-mile delivery trucks. The company was founded in 2021 by a female chief scientist from Uber’s self-driving tech division Uber ATG (now Aurora-owned). Its next-gen autonomous trucking tech, dubbed “Waabi Driver,” comes with a machine learning and GenAI-based autonomy stack, sensors (LiDAR, radar, and cameras), and compute hardware, and is capable of Level 4 automation (i.e., fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions). It is an end-to-end trainable system that can be configured to learn from data and make decisions for safer navigation. The company conducts simulations using its “Waabi World,” a high-fidelity closed-loop simulator that virtually tests its self-driving software and teaches it in real time. Waabi’s self-driving software is designed for factory-level OEM integration, large-scale commercialization, and deployment.The company unveiled its first-generation purpose-built, heavy-duty trucks powered by Waabi Driver <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14683">in November 2022</a> for OEM integration. Waabs adopts a driver-as-a-service model where the company integrates Waabi Driver in partnership with OEMs and offers its service to fleet customers and shippers. The company launched a trucking terminal in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29041">Lancaster, Dallas</a> (Texas), in April 2024, which was to serve as its central facility for operations in Texas.Key customers and partnershipsWaabi’s customer partnerships include Uber Freight (a 10-year collaboration for a commercial delivery pilot in Texas; <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22080">September 2023).</a>The company also has a partnership with NVIDIA to integrate NVIDIA’s next-gen computing platform, “Drive Thor,” into Waabi’s self-driving system <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27888">(March 2024).</a>

Moving industry forward with next-gen advancements in energy storage and transmission

Alternative Energy

Northvolt is a Swedish company aiming to mass-manufacture lithium-ion batteries for EVs, grid storage, and other industrial applications. Northvolt targets a 25% European market share by 2030.&nbsp;&nbsp;Northvolt commenced production at its first commercial factory in Skelleftea, Sweden, in December 2021. The annual capacity was expected to ramp up to 32 GWh by 2024, with the potential to expand to 60 GWh in the future. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21225">August 2023</a>, Northvolt began assembling energy storage systems at its new facility known as “Northvolt Dwa” in Gdańsk, Poland. In March 2024, the company began construction of its “Northvolt Drei” battery gigafactory in Germany. The facility is set to have an annual production capacity of 60 GWh, with plans to begin operations in 2026.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24325">November 2023</a>, Northvolt launched a new sodium-ion battery that has an energy density of over 160 watt-hours per kilogram, making it more effective than traditional nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of March 2024, the company has secured over USD 55 billion in battery orders from a range of customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11824">July 2022</a>, Northvolt signed a joint development agreement with Stora Enso to create a battery that contains an anode made from lignin-based hard carbon produced with sustainably produced wood from Nordic forests.Funding and financials&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26802">January 2024</a>, Northvolt secured USD 5 billion to expand its Northvolt Ett battery factory in northern Sweden, to support the expansion of Northvolt Ett's cathode production and cell manufacturing, as well as the expansion of the adjacent recycling plant, Revolt Ett. In November 2023, Northvolt raised CAD 200 million (~USD 150 million) in convertible debt from CDPQ, to facilitate the Northvolt Six sustainable battery gigafactory project in Québec. Previously, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21227">August 2023</a>, the company raised USD 1.2 billion in convertible notes to expand into Europe and North America. Prior to this, in<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19557"> June 2023</a>, the company received a USD 400 million investment from the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) in the form of convertible loan notes. The funds were to be used for the company’s global expansion plans. In<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11457"> July 2022</a>, Northvolt raised USD 1.1 billion to expand production in Europe.

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

<div>
 
 Northvolt is a Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer targeting the automotive industry and energy storage companies. Northvolt also uses a low-energy hydrometallurgical treatment to recover a variety of metals such as nickel, manganese, cobalt, copper, and even aluminum and plastics from spent battery cells. The process can isolate the metals and separate them from impurities with the use of an aqueous solution. The recovered metals are sourced to third parties as raw materials for their production processes. Northvolt&rsquo;s customer partnerships include BMW Group, Volkswagen, and Epiroc.
 
 
 Northvolt developed its first 100% fully recycled battery cell under the recycling program 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/sectors/sustainability/updates/6691">
 &ldquo;Revolt&rsquo;&rsquo;
 </a>
 . The recycled battery cell comes as part of Northvolt's efforts to establish a sustainable supply of batteries to reduce carbonization and to produce cells with 50% recycled material by 2030.
 
 
 As of November 2021, Northvolt operates a production plant, Northvolt Ett, in Sweden. In the same month, the company reported plans to build its new large-scale recycling plant called &ldquo;Revolt Ett&rdquo; also in Sweden. The plant is expected to commence its construction in Q1 2022 and begin production in 2023 with a capacity to recycle 125,000 tons of batteries annually. The facility is expected to be Europe&rsquo;s largest battery recycling plant and the only large-scale facility capable of recycling lithium in addition to nickel, manganese, cobalt, and other metals in Europe. The company aims to reach a capacity of at least 150 GWh annual battery production by 2030.
 
 
 In addition, the company also operates its battery recycling plant 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10453">
 HydroVolt
 </a>
 , formed as a joint venture (JV) with aluminum and energy company Hydro. Hydrovolt claimed to be Europe&rsquo;s largest battery recycling plant, opened its Norway facility in May 2022, which has a capacity to process 12,000 tons of battery packs per year. Hydrovolt has plans to expand its recycling capacity to recycle around 70,000 tons of battery packs by 2025 and 300,000 tons of battery packs by 2030 and is looking for locations in Germany and France to build new plants. 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In August 2023, Northvolt and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21307">
 European Metal Recycling (EMR)
 </a>
 opened a 12,000 sq m EV battery recycling facility in Hamburg, capable of processing 10,000 tons of end-of-life battery packs annually.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Northvolt raised USD 2.75 billion in June 2021 in a venture capital round co-led by Goldman Sachs and Volkswagen, bringing the company's valuation to USD 11.75 billion. The funding is expected to be utilized in developing the European battery value chain by achieving green objectives and reaching its battery production goal. In July 2023, Hydrovolt was awarded NOK 15.3 million (~USD 1.4 million) by 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19512">
 Enova
 </a>
 , a Norwegian government entity promoting eco-friendly energy production and consumption, to develop and test new technology that automates and manages Hydrovolt's EV battery-recycling facility in Fredrikstad.
 
</div>

Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

Northvolt is a Swedish company aiming to mass-manufacture lithium-ion batteries for EVs, grid storage, and other industrial applications. Northvolt targets a 25% European market share by 2030.&nbsp;&nbsp;Northvolt commenced production at its first commercial factory in Skelleftea, Sweden, in December 2021. The commissioning and upscaling of the factory were expected to continue through into 2022, when the first commercial customer deliveries were expected to be made. The annual capacity was expected to ramp up to 32 GWh by 2024, with the potential to expand to 60 GWh in the future. Northvolt also plans to launch a 60 GWh-gigafactory in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/602790">Germany</a>. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22281">September 2023,</a> the company reported plans to invest CAD 7 billion (~USD 5.2 billion) to develop a 30 GWh battery manufacturing plant in Quebec, Canada. The factory is expected to begin operations in 2026.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24325">November 2023</a>, Northvolt launched a new sodium-ion battery that has an energy density of over 160 watt-hours per kilogram, making it more effective than traditional nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries.Key customers and partnershipsAs of March 2024, the company has secured over USD 55 billion in battery orders from a range of customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group.In July 2022, Northvolt signed a joint development agreement with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11823">Stora Enso</a> to create a battery that contains an anode made from lignin-based hard carbon produced with sustainably sourced wood from Nordic forests. In April 2023, Northvolt and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17849">Scania</a> unveiled a jointly developed battery cell for heavy commercial EVs with a capacity to power trucks for 1.5 million km. Northvolt also operates Europe's largest electric vehicle battery recycling plant, Hydrovolt, capable of processing around 12,000 tons of battery packs per year (around 25,000 EV batteries). Hydrovolt is a joint venture between Northvolt and Norsk Hydro (a Norwegian aluminum and energy company).Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26803">January 2024</a>, Northvolt secured USD 5 billion to expand its Northvolt Ett battery factory in northern Sweden, to support the expansion of Northvolt Ett's cathode production and cell manufacturing, as well as the expansion of the adjacent recycling plant, Revolt Ett. In November 2023, Northvolt raised CAD 200 million (~USD 150 million) in convertible debt from CDPQ, to facilitate the Northvolt Six sustainable battery gigafactory project in Québec. Previously, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21227">August 2023</a>, the company raised USD 1.2 billion in convertible notes to expand into Europe and North America. Prior to this, in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19557">June 2023</a>, the company received a USD 400 million investment from the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) in the form of convertible loan notes. The funds were to be used for the company’s global expansion plans. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11457">July 2022</a>, Northvolt raised USD 1.1 billion to expand production in Europe.

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

<div>
 
 German startup Scantinel Photonics develops LiDAR technology for autonomous vehicles. It offers chip-scale optical enhanced array (OEA) LiDAR that has 300+ meters detection capabilities and solid-state scanning. The company uses frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) technology for its LiDAR. The company was yet to commercialize the product as of February 2024 and released its second-generation FMCW LiDAR silicon chip 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19819">
 in June 2023.
 </a>
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In February 2021, the company partnered with Imec, a research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, to develop its chip-scale optical enhanced array (OEA) technology.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14883">
 In November 2022,
 </a>
 Scantinel Photonics raised EUR 10 million (USD 10.4 million) extending its Series A funding round. Previously in May 2021, Scantinel Photonics raised EUR 7.5 million (USD 9.1 million) led by Scania Growth Capital. The company intended to utilize these funds for further product development and commercialization.
 
 
 
</div>

Waabi is an artificial intelligence company that develops autonomous driving technology for the transportation sector. It offers a self-driving solution known as the Waabi Driver, designed for integration with trucks and aimed at large-scale commercialization and safe deployment. The company primarily serves the logistics and transportation industries with its autonomous trucking solutions The company was founded in 2021 by Raquel Urtasun and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Black Semiconductor provides bandwidth bottlenecks, semiconductor concepts, chip fabrication processes, autonomous driving, IoT, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence services.

SiB Solutions use cutting-edge software technologies such as AI, IIoT, and intelligent video analysis to automate and improve logistics processes. The company's logtech platform enables flawless logistics across the supply chain. It improves quality, superior visibility, visual evidence, and insights.

CYCLE is a rapidly growing subscription service for market-leading delivery companies. We make sure that thousands of couriers are on the move safely, quickly and comfortably every day. In this way, we not only create added value for delivery services, but also help to reduce transport-related CO2 emissions on the last mile.

vialytics is a system solution for the road management of municipalities.   Their integrated road monitoring system enables municipal administrations to collect data of their roads and monitor the results. Predictive Features enrich the user experience by data-matching background processes.

SCANTINEL PHOTONICS relies on coherent (FMCW) LiDAR to generate three-dimensional images of the environment, thus creating a reliable basis for autonomous navigation. The LiDAR technology from SCANTINEL PHOTONICS combines coherent ranging and spectral scanning on a solid-state platform. This allows an exact detection of the environment of the vehicle combined with high range, reliability, compactness, and low costs.

Parcelly is the UK’s first and most advanced provider of carrier and retailer agnostic Pick-up and Drop-off (PUDO) technology. Enabling over 2,500+ collection points in the UK, GER, ESP and MENA to resolve industry problems associated with first- and last-mile delivery. Our core belief is that receiving, returning and sending parcels should be convenient, efficient, simple and above all sustainable - powering the new reality of retail. Parcelly's innovative, multi-award winning approach helps reduce the number of driver destinations and delivery attempts, whilst driving air quality improvements and white van traffic reduction in congestion zones. From hyper-local to global, Parcelly is the omnichannel technology powering the future of parcel distribution.  LOCAL SHOP OR BUSINESS Customer convenience, additional footfall, increased cross-selling opportunities & a new revenue stream. No set-up costs or bulky equipment; compatible with any webshop or carrier worldwide. Parcel collection points are managed entirely via smartphone and can control the size & number of parcels to receive. SELLING ONLINE Improved online shopping experience with a last- and first-mile solution that fits busy lifestyles. Available on-demand with or without API integration at checkout. Guaranteed increase in first-time delivery rates. Cost savings through the reduction in customer service enquiries & compensation claims. CARRIER OR SHIPPER Access to a nationwide, carrier agnostic PUDO network. Seamless compatibility, smart delivery route & resource capacity optimisation. Fully customisable, on-demand click&collect technology with real-time tracking of delivery status & customer feedback. CORPORATE OR LARGE ENTERPRISE Avoid rising corporate mailroom costs and benefit from a sustainable click&collect and return service, reducing the number of non-business related parcel deliveries.

bex is building a logistics platform that focuses on last-mile delivery for the construction sector. With bex, construction companies save time - their most valuable resource. Distributors and suppliers use bex to complement their existing logistics solutions and manage their deliveries. In the booming construction sector, bex has a huge end-to-end upside potential along the logistics supply chain.

sennder is a digital road freight forwarder in continental Europe, linking large commercial shippers with small freight carriers. With its in-house-developed platform, sennder provides a new level of automation, transparency, and efficiency to the European €300 billion road freight market, which until now has been dependent on paper, phone, and fax and characterized by multi-layer subcontracting. sennder’s digital connection to over 10,000 vehicles in all segments allows for almost unlimited capacities, no matter what time of the day. sennder digitalizes the truckload-shipping ecosystem by providing mobile apps to drivers, fleet management tools to carrier managers, and logistics management solutions to shippers. Real-time booking, a designated contact person always on hand, as well as precise live tracking, bring full transparency to any logistics supply chain. By integrating directly with the shippers’ Transport Management and Freight Management Systems via APIs and by cutting the multiple middlemen, sennder increases efficiency and reduces cost for all stakeholders.

Northvolt develops sustainable lithium-ion batteries in conjunction with R&D, industrialization, and recycling to support clean energy. It provides electrification and renewable energy storage designed for lithium-ion battery plants to produce batteries for electric vehicles. Northvolt's product is an environment-friendly battery manufactured with a minimal carbon footprint and with recycling technology without compromising important ecosystems, enabling the auto industry to replace fossil fuels with electricity in an efficient manner. The company aims to establish a supply of sustainable battery cells and systems.

AKOA is the leading automation pure-play that leverages the benefits of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence to shape the organizations of the future.

Corebon Technology enables you to pioneer new applications and profitable markets for carbon fiber reinforced plastics and other fiber reinforced plastic materials.

Swed-Weld is a producer of add-on equipment for the optimization of automated manufacturing lines.

Enersize Ltd. is a technology company specialized in comprehensive energy saving solutions for process industry, equipment and systems – a business environment, where Enersize’s know-how in complete processes and energy efficiency improvement potential originated.  The company has developed an industrial energy saving concept, which includes measuring, monitoring and control software. With this solution and expertise industrial producers can reduce their energy use at least 30 %.  Enersize’s customers are primarily in China and Europe. Main branches are chemical, pulp and paper, energy and metal, among other process industries.  Enersize has been accepted to the Finnish Cleantech VIGO Acceleration Programme. VIGO is a program that The Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy has launched to boost the development of fast-growing startups. The aim is to use public sector incentives to achieve the involvement of the best, internationally experienced top experts in enterprise development, to transform startups into new growth enterprises.

Scania has founded Scania Growth Capital for investments in high-growth companies with strategic relevance to its ecosystem of customers and partners in the automotive- and transport industries.  Scania Growth Capital invests in companies that support the shift towards a more sustainable transport system, and in ventures that may discover disrupting technologies and business models in the automotive and transport industries.  It also provides a platform where Scania can support capable entrepreneurs with a large ecosystem, as well as broad and deep industry knowledge, which will add great value to the portfolio companies.

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