Northvolt’s Post

Northvolt, like a phenix. We need in EU a big competitor in mobility batteries (Li or Na): we cannot be dependent on external suppliers. Unfortunately for us, chinese automakers and suppliers are 5 years ahead: we need more public (first at all, because most ideas and projects fail to achieve the expected goal: only public R&D can tolerate the losses) and private funding in basic and applied R&D.

Forging Ahead: Embracing Challenges, Fueling Innovation at Northvolt At Northvolt, we are currently facing significant challenges that test our resilience and determination. However, it is during such times that true innovation and growth emerge. Our commitment to driving the future of sustainable energy remains unwavering, even in the face of adversity. Now more than ever, we must harness our collective strength, creativity, and focus. Challenges are an inherent part of pioneering change, and we have the talent, vision, and resolve to turn these into opportunities. Together, we will not only overcome but emerge stronger, more focused, and more driven in our mission. The road ahead may be demanding, but the future we are building is worth every effort. Let’s continue forward with confidence and unity. #Leadership #Sustainability #Resilience #Northvolt #Innovation 🤞 ✊

Northvolt’s struggle to deliver batteries as promised, with the resulting scale-back of its plans, highlights the difficulty of fostering a strategic industry in defiance of prevalent market dynamics. The core logic of the huge bet on Northvolt seemed, to me, to be that protectionism would shelter and allow it a safe place in which to incubate. Unfortunately, Northvolt could not be sheltered from the unforgiving pace at with the batteries industry l moves globally. Their delay in deliveries to BMW, which caused the cancellation of a multi-billion dollar contract, showcases this - by the time the batteries would have eventually been delivered, they would have been obsolete. Unfortunately, things do move faster in China than in Sweden. Nevertheless, Northvolt’s unfolding failure is sad. Plans are now reduced to something much less ambitious, with heavy reliance on Asian suppliers - chiefly, perhaps, Chinese ones - all but ensured. Investments into the burgeoning Swedish eco-system of suppliers to the batteries industry, too, is bound to be impacted - companies that were scaling up to participate in Northvolt’s supply chain must, obviously, be re-thinking their engagements. https://lnkd.in/drVvuWXh

According to Northvolt " . . Now it’s time to focus on the core, to learn from the past and to #scaleup our core business to make sure that we can meet our customers’ expectations..." -- Is that term "scale up" becoming corporate synonym of "close down" and reducing work force. Definitely EU policy makers had over ambitious expectations of EV market specially understanding the supply chain and manufacturing capacity of Eurasian giants. #tesla #northvolt #scaleup

Don’t get in the game if you can’t handle it’s magnitude . I don’t understand how this is even a debate when it should be a certainty! It has nothing to do with right or wrong, rather it is a matter of IF we (read this part of the world) want to take and guard a selfsustaining position as world power takes a giant leap from centric at fossil hegemony TO power centred around electrification and empowering that transition. It is, simply put, to be regarded as an opportunity! Why is Europe (in particular swedish government) hesitant about funding? As Harald Mix has stated publicly; Europe might be to small when it comes to funding skin in the game of seismic proportion!? It has played out as true several times and funding battery production is only one of several remaining industries who need the support in order to create a competitive edge on the other side of this ongoing #tradewar. For us NOMS we are taking our responsibility to develop a working infrastructure for #realtime production of garments on-shore in line with customer demand! Let’s hope we have partners as strong as Harald and Goldman Sachs who supports Northvolt no mather what. You go Peter Carlsson ! 🌕🚀 #joinforces 🚀

The problems facing the Swedish EV battery manufacturer Northvolt (along with other European battery manufacturers), (please see the Swedish business newspaper Dagen Industri today Sept 23, 2024) I foresaw and wrote about here on LinkedIn already when Northvolt published its plans to start its factory. A greenfield investment in Sweden, competing with already established car manufacturers and Chinese battery producers, could in my eyes not have a good future. One does not need to have in-depth knowledge into the sector to realize that! For Northvolt 2023 saw revenues of MUSD 126 and a loss of staggering MUSD 1,033 before tax, I have not been able to obtain interim figures for 2024 as the company is not public. Alone the initial investment and the production costs in Sweden (compared to Asia) spoke against it. Further, neither the Swedish nor other European governments seemed to intend to give the necessary financial incentives to buy the significantly more expensive EVs, compared to the traditional combustion powered ones. I am sure my old friend and classmate from the university, Peter Carlsson, had good intentions but was probably blinded by the EV hype at the time and inspired by his job at Tesla/Elon Musk. I offered him to support the start-up venture with my risk management knowledge but the answer was "we do not need a risk manager now....". Well I think risk management is heavily underrated - still 2024 - at least outside the financial sector and it would most likely have been also there if it were not for the laws and regulations, most of which came as result of the financial crisis 2008. https://lnkd.in/dWN57ke3 https://lnkd.in/dghBG72v

Europe’s ambitions to lead the world in green technologies risk fizzling out in the face of China’s dominance. The outlook is especially bleak when it comes to electric vehicle batteries, an important driver of the low-carbon economy. Sweden’s Northvolt AB was long seen as a potential European rival to the giant Chinese companies that make most of the world’s electric vehicle power cells. Now the business is fighting for its survival after a series of operational blunders wrecked its growth plans

Northvolt's struggles reflect broader challenges that Europe's nascent electric vehicle and battery industry faces. But despite massive capital investments-in Northvolt's case, $15 billion to date-the company is finding it difficult to remain competitive in a market dominated by an aggressive Asian, mainly Chinese manufacturing push. Operational setbacks, financial losses, and delays in planned joint ventures suggest that the capacity of the European market to support such ambitious green technology projects may have been overestimated. Only adding to Northvolt's woes is the fact that demand for battery-powered vehicles has cooled off in Europe, posting a nominal 1.3% growth in the first half of 2024 from a growth of 14.6% last year. This has been due to strong competition from China, where production costs are low in comparison and technological development is quite rapid. It has forced European giants such as Volkswagen and Volvo to seriously reconsider their strategies; with some even dropping their all-electric vehicle sales targets, such as Volvo for 2030. A string of accidents, such as the death of three workers shortly after their shifts, calls into question Northvolt's operational management and workplace safety. Besides this estimate, it predicted a loss of $1.2 billion for the year 2023-nearly a fourfold increase on the $285 million loss reported the previous year. Delays in joint-venture factories currently under construction in Sweden, Germany, and Canada further underpin the challenges this company faces. The situation of Northvolt, thus, is one real test of how deep the challenges are for building a competitive and sustainable green technology industry in Europe. From being hailed earlier as a beacon of hope and potential competitor to China's dominance in the EV battery market, Northvolt has gone on to being questioned on grounds of scaling up operations, keeping finances in order, and competing in a world where cost and efficiency would be tantamount to everything else. The crystal clear lesson that emerges for Europe is that ambition alone will not be enough; strategic execution, competitive pricing, and operational excellence are needed to remain competitive in fast-changing green technologies. #Northvolt #EV

In the race for innovation, #lithium-ion battery manufacturing leads the charge. With advancements in anode and cathode materials, efficiency, longevity and sustainability soar. Amidst dropping battery prices and government subsidies, the challenge to outpace China remains. However, the landscape is shifting with upcoming #gigafactories outside China, signalling a global push towards sustainable energy solutions. At #Jacobs, we're proudly contributing significantly to this evolution. We're supporting companies like NorthVolt, Ola and Tesla in establishing their #gigafactories. I’m sure there’re many more to come.