OSLO, (Reuters) – The Swedish state will not take a stake in battery maker Northvolt and the company’s future must be determined by its private owners, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press conference on Monday.
Northvolt last week announced it would shrink its operations and cut jobs, sparking fears that Europe’s best shot at a home-grown electric vehicle battery champion may stall.
“There is no doubt that we are committed to Sweden being a good place for new technology that is needed in the green transition, but it is not relevant for the Swedish state to step in and take a stake,” Kristersson said.
Northvolt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The prime minister’s statement came in reply to a question on whether the Swedish government would participate in a potential financial rescue of Northvolt.
“The ball is in the company’s court now,” said Kristersson, who leads Sweden’s conservative Moderate Party, adding that it was up to Northvolt’s owners to develop the group.
“We don’t involve ourselves in the business plans of individual companies but we do want to be a good place for this kind of industry,” he said.
Northvolt on Sept. 9 said it would suspend parts of the production at its gigafactory in Sweden and that the planned construction of plants in Germany, Canada and southern Sweden faced delays as the company scales back its rapid expansion.
With Volkswagen among its owners, Northvolt has led a wave of European startups investing tens of billions of dollars in battery production to serve the continent’s automakers as they switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
But growth in EV demand is moving at a slower pace than some in the industry had projected, and competition remains stiff from China, which controls 85% of global battery cell production, International Energy Agency data shows.
Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen, Kirsten Donovan
