Capital Economy, Business and Finance
Northvolt, Europe’s leading EV battery company and a strategic alternative to Chinese-owned green technology, is cutting back its expansion plans. Problems at its flagship gigafactory in Sweden and the cancellation of a $2 billion contract with BMW – worth 4 per cent of the company’s order book – have cast doubts on its ability to scale three other sites in Sweden, Germany and Canada. On top of that there are worries about worker safety at its site in Skellefteå after five people who were working there died in the past 12 months. They’ve cast a shadow over a startup that initially raised $15 billion from investors including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, and sought to disrupt China’s dominance of the market by recycling the vast majority of its components and rare materials such as manganese and nickel. If Europe wants greener batteries for its cars, it needs companies that can match China’s execution. It can’t afford more tragedies at Northvolt.
