Northvolt, the Swedish maker of battery cells for electric vehicles, said on Thursday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., dealing a blow to Europe's hopes that its most developed battery player would reduce Western car makers' reliance on Chinese rivals.

Swedish-based Northvolt, which was seen as one of Europe’s best shots at fighting off China’s electric vehicle battery supremacy, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. The company said in its Chapter 11 petition filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that its “liquidity picture has become dire.”