(Bloomberg) — Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said there needs to be a rethink of how governments and private enterprise in Europe work together in the wake of the collapse of battery maker Northvolt AB.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Speaking in an interview on Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Kristersson said that “if other countries are doing more in terms of government intervention, then we need to think through how we combine government resources and private resources in the best way.”
Northvolt was seen as Europe’s answer to a home-grown supplier of batteries in response to the stiff competition from Asian manufacturers, particularly in China. Rivals there, such as BYD Co. and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. have lower costs and years of experience with complex battery technology after state subsidies helped give them a head start. The Inflation Reduction Act, meanwhile, has attracted clean-industry investment to the US.
But the Swedish supplier to the EV industry sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in November after a bid to secure rescue funding fell short, leaving the company with just one week’s cash and $5.84 billion in debt.
The government of Kristersson repeatedly ruled out providing direct financial aid to the ailing company as it sought fresh funds to keep its operations going.
“In a disruptive technological era there will be investments made that will turn out in a bad way,” Kristersson said. “That has always been the case.”
Northvolt is currently in talks for funds that would allow it to emerge from the court-supervised process, but it has yet to line up investors willing to commit funds, according to people familiar with the matter.
Despite the high profile bankruptcy filing, Kristersson struck an optimistic tone on attracting further investment into the Nordic nation of about 11 million people.
Sweden has “good preconditions for electricity, for being fossil free and for having good preconditions to recruiting skilled people,” he said.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=679381ef1ce84700b6f086a2442fae08&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffinance.yahoo.com%2Fnews%2Fswedish-premier-says-northvolt-teaches-162243983.html&c=9892101075191310003&mkt=de-de
Author :
Publish date : 2025-01-22 08:21:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
