(Bloomberg) -- The government of Sweden has promised to support the country’s fledgling battery industry with new funds for research and a push to retain the skills of workers made redundant by Northvolt AB.
Writing in an op-ed in newspaper Dagens Industri on Thursday, Energy Minister Ebba Busch and four other government ministers said funds for research and innovation would total 715 million kronor ($66.2 million) and be distributed over four years.
“The EU needs continued secure access to competitive development, production and value chains to succeed with electrification but also to reduce our strategic dependencies on other countries,” they wrote.
The ministers also repeated a prior pledge of 700 million kronor to support the power system’s capabilities, which may involve investments in energy storage such as batteries.
While the government has so far refused to provide direct funding to the cash-strapped battery maker, the ministers said the country’s Agency for Growth will coordinate efforts among stakeholders to assist those made redundant at Northvolt, “to contribute to Sweden being able to retain and continue to make use of competence for the green transition.”
In September, Northvolt announced job losses amounting to 25% of its Swedish staff. The local reductions were to be split across its main Skelleftea factory, where 1,000 jobs are being cut, its plant in Vasteras with 400 workers and Stockholm with 200 positions.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.