Battery cells are the driving force of the electric age; without them, nothing in the electric car runs. But unlike grumbling V8 combustion engines or economical three-cylinder engines, Europe is largely blank when it comes to future technology.
In 2017, Peter Carlsson, a former Tesla manager, founded the Swedish start-up Northvolt together with a partner. With his company, Carlsson wanted to counteract the Asian dominance in the battery cell market.
The development was rapid: to date, Northvolt has collected 13 billion euros from its backers. Carlsson had its first factory built in Sweden and is planning further cell factories, for example in Germany and Canada. But the approach near the Arctic Circle, in Skellefteå, is more difficult than planned. With BMW the first customer has lost his patience
and canceled an order worth 2 billion euros, the next round of financing will be more difficult
than in previous years.
A failure of Northvolt? The European car industry cannot afford it. “Otherwise Europe will become completely dependent on China for battery cells,” says a car manager.
What is the status of Northvolt and why is the Swedish company, which has so far only made losses, so important for Europe’s future in the automotive industry?
In this podcast, Margret Hucko, editor of manager magazin, provides information about this in conversation with editor-in-chief Isabell Hülsen.
In the podcast “Das Thema”, editor-in-chief Isabell Hülsen provides information every week about the editorial team’s exclusive findings on a topic that is crucial for the German economy. You can listen to the podcast via manager-magazin.de and on Spotify
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