Christofer Haux, Northvolt’s German managing director, called for clarity at the end of November. Clarity about state aid for the gigafactory in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein
, which the Swedish company has already started building. After the climate fund ruling from Karlsruhe, funding was temporarily shaky.
While other corporations continue tremble about the state’s billions, Haux and Northvolt actually had clarity at the beginning of December. The federal government is releasing a good half a billion euros in funding for the battery factory, using an exemption. In total, Northvolt will receive around 700 million euros, with almost 136 million euros coming from the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The funding decision still has to be approved by the European Commission, but that is a formality. In March, the EU Commission significantly expanded the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) for technology funding and created new opportunities for state funding.
And not only Germany, but also the European Union is very interested in Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturer building its new high-tech factory in Dithmarschen near the North Sea, and not in the USA – who lured with the lavish “Inflation Reduction Act” subsidy program. Because Northvolt is one of the few European start-ups that could actually compete with large Asian providers such as CATL, LG Energy Solution or BYD.
Chinese manufacturers are expanding capacities
For this reason, Northvolt should help reduce dependence on battery imports – Europe is currently still very focused on deliveries China reliant. At least that’s the plan. The rapidly growing market is currently clearly dominated by Asian cell manufacturers such as CATL and BYD from China, LG from South Korea and Panasonic from Japan.
Chinese manufacturers will build up enormous additional capacities in the next few years. This is shown by a study by Roland Berger and the PEM Chair at RWTH Aachen, about which manager magazine reported exclusively. By 2030, production capacity for lithium and sodium-ion batteries in China could increase to almost 6,000 gigawatt hours. In Europe in the same period to 1,435 gigawatt hours.
Overall, the global battery market will grow at a total growth rate of 34 percent per year until 2030. Given the turnaround in transport over the next few decades, around 80 percent of the demand for the coveted lithium-ion batteries will come from electric vehicles. However, despite Chinese expansion, the supply of battery cells in Europe and North America is not yet secured in the medium term. like Roland Berger consultant Wolfgang Bernhart(61) emphasized.
The reason: On the one hand, the announced Chinese plants have yet to be built, and on the other hand, it is uncertain whether the car manufacturers can really rely on suppliers from China. Cell manufacturers in Europe could benefit from this, although they still have to prove that they can supply larger quantities.
Northvolt’s factory in Heide is set to produce the “greenest electric car battery in the world”.
Northvolt, founded in Stockholm in 2016, is Europe’s hope against the car manufacturers’ impending dependence on Asian corporations. The Swedes have been producing batteries in their first factory in Skellefteå, Sweden, since the end of 2021. The first car manufacturers have been supplied to customers since May 2022 Volkswagen, Scania, BMW and Volvo. With 21.1 percent, Volkswagen is also the largest shareholder. BMW is on board with a small share.
The inconspicuous yellow building on Alströmergatan 20 in Stockholm does not initially indicate that the European answer to the battery challenge can be found here: only the Northvolt lettering next to the entrance door gives it away. “The greenest electric car battery in the world” is planned here, and Northvolt founder Peter Carlsson (53) promised nothing less at a press conference in Heide in mid-March 2022. Around 3,000 jobs are expected to be created in the gigafactory. Production is scheduled to start in 2025. The annual production volume is expected to be 60 gigawatt hours (GWh) and supply around 1 million electric vehicles with battery cells.
As head of production, Carlsson had previously built battery cells for the US electric car company Tesla, among other things. He belongs to the so-called “Tesla Mafia”, a group of successful top managers,
who once worked under Elon Musk and now move billions on their own. Like many other members of the group, Carlsson has focused on green technologies.
ADVERTISEMENT
Transform yourself: How innovation can succeed
Enlarge image
Photo:
freepik
The transformation of the economy and society in Germany is dynamic. New technologies must be brought into line with climate and environmental goals. In this way, a sustainable, future-proof society can be created that also strengthens Germany as an industrial location. We show promising examples of how this challenge can be achieved.
To the sponsored site “Transform Yourself: How Innovation Can Succeed”
European manufacturers are embracing competition
Carlsson and his people looked at 140 locations in Europe
, before they decided that the small German town of Heide would win the contract. According to Northvolt, the location’s advantages include its central location in Europe and the large surplus of green energy from onshore and offshore wind power. Renewable energies play a crucial role at Northvolt. The company wants to develop a new, sustainable way of battery production. The Northvolt Ett plant in Skellefteå is already powered by 100 percent emission-free electricity, most of which comes from hydropower in northern Sweden.
Most recently, the Swedish company announced the construction of sodium-ion batteries. The cell, developed together with research partner Altris, will have a peak energy density of more than 160 watt hours per kilogram and be free of lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, Northvolt said. It is safer, cheaper and more sustainable than conventional batteries with nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate (LFP), which both use lithium.
more on the subject
Whether lithium-ion batteries or sodium-ion batteries: the cost factor plays a decisive role in the race with the Asian battery giants. The threat of overcapacity from Chinese manufacturers is increasing cost pressure on Northvolt and other European manufacturers. If all costs are taken into account, including transport and customs duties, European manufacturers could still survive This is the assessment of Roland Berger consultant Bernhart in an interview with manager magazin. But without government subsidies, Carlsson and his team have made it clear again and again, it won’t work. Germany and Europe are not getting a green beacon of hope for free.