Published 10 September 2024 at 12.01
Economy. The situation for the sustainability giant Northvolt looks increasingly unsustainable. Now it may turn out that politically correct pension funds have squandered billions on the company and that the politicians' vision of an entirely electric car-driven EU will become just as dependent on China as they have invested everything to avoid becoming, reports Ekot.
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Green transition
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- Germany abandons electric cars
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's bankruptcy
Northvolt, which is in a strong expansion phase, is now suddenly closing a third of its factory in Skellefteå and apparently canceling the expansion in order to focus on pure survival.
The company will reduce the number of employees and cut back sharply , Northvolt announced in a press release on Monday.
— They obviously have big problems, but we don't know how big because the company is very secretive, says Kristian Åström, Sveriges Radio's economic commentator, to Ekot.
< p>The company is burning capital and does not have enough revenue. Therefore, you need to get in SEK 15 billion quickly, but that financing round is going slowly.
It is clear in any case that if the company goes bankrupt, it will be a problem for many people, because it was opportune, among other things, for large pension managers to «invest in green transition» in recent years.
— For example, Folksam and AMF have invested several billions. Skellefteå municipality has invested to match Northvolt's expansion and the National Debt Office, i.e. the Swedish state, has issued credit guarantees for the company of 1.2 billion dollars, says Åström.
— But Northvolt is a key company in the government
— On a European level, eyebrows are now being raised, because Northvolt is a major player in the battery area with plans for factories in Germany, among others. Batteries are a «strategic product» according to the EU Commission and an important part of the EU's industrial policy and the transition to an industrial green value chain. The alternative, there is a great dependence on China, which for political reasons they now want to get away from.