The search for a new owner for the troubled $7-billion manufacturing facility south of Montreal is underway, said the federal minister for innovation, science and technology, as debt-freighted Swedish battery sector pioneer files for bankruptcy.

Northvolt, the Swedish battery manufacturer with plans to build a $7-billion factory in Quebec, has declared bankruptcy in Sweden.The company said in a media release that the decision to declare bankruptcy was taken after "an exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company.