Just below the arctic circle, Northvolt’s flagship battery factory once stood as a beacon of Europe’s ambitions to power its future with clean energy. But following the company’s recent bankruptcy, its last production lines have fallen silent.
There is still hope that a buyer might emerge to revive the fortunes of the small Swedish factory town dependent on Northvolt’s success. Silicon Valley startup Lyten has already taken over Northvolt’s Polish plant, and Swedish truck manufacturer Scania has expressed interest in putting together a consortium to acquire its R&D facility.
Yet one thing is certain: Neither the European Union nor Sweden will rescue Northvolt, even though it was once Europe’s best funded startup, having secured $15 billion in funding commitments from investors and governments.
How a company founded by two former Tesla executives managed to fail despite such a massive amount of capital will be a case study for business schools for years to come. It also raises questions as to whether the government did enough to support its former battery champion, and how Europe should revise its approach to competing with China in high-growth, low-carbon industries.
What went wrong?
