Leaders | Out of juice

Lessons from the failure of Northvolt

Governments blew billions on a battery champion. Time to welcome foreign investors instead

This illustration shows an open book with a yellow background. The left page has a green leaf, a bold "n," text, and a declining graph. Small figures on the right turn a blank page, one holding a large yellow pen.
Illustration: Rose Wong

It was supposed to be a battery pioneer, a symbol of European competitiveness and an example of industrial policy done right. Yet on November 21st Northvolt, Europe’s best-funded startup, filed for bankruptcy. A day later its boss and founder, Peter Carlsson, announced his resignation. What went wrong?

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Lessons from Northvolt’s failure”

Leaders November 30th 2024

From the November 30th 2024 edition

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