Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt has assembled the first “homegrown” lithium-ion battery cell for electric vehicles at a Skellefteå gigafactory, the company announced on Wednesday. In a statement, the company said the battery marks a “new chapter in European industrial history,” as the cell is the first to have been “fully designed, developed, and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company.” The term gigafactory is a combination of the word “factory” and “giga,” a unit of measurement representing billions. Coined by Tesla founder Elon Musk, the word refers to the large-scale manufacturing facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). Northvolt has been working on assembling the battery since the gigafactory was announced in 2017. The battery cell came off the production line at the factory on Tuesday, Northvolt said, adding that “commissioning and upscaling of the factory will continue through into 2022.” It also expects …