The heat around Sweden’s Northvolt is rising, with auto manufacturer Volkswagen reportedly setting up a taskforce to consider late battery deliveries. And Northvolt is facing a storm around alleged poor working practices at its battery plant in Skellefteå, northern Sweden.
German motor magazine Automobilwoche reported that VW, which owns 22% of Northvolt, is setting up the internal taskforce as a result of late deliveries by the Swedes. No decision to cancel is thought to have been made by VW, according to the report. VW, one of the largest shareholders in Northvolt, declined to comment on the report when we asked. BMW pulled a €2 billion battery cells order in June, citing late deliveries.
In October 2023, CEO of truck maker Scania complained publicly about late battery deliveries from Northvolt. In March this year, Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson said the tide had turned on late deliveries and production was going up.
There are reports about poor working conditions at the Northvolt Ett factory – including falling asleep on the job through exhaustion and worries over chemicals and personal protection equipment, and poor communication from managers. Not all of them adequately understand the Swedish labour market model of regulation and partnership between companies and unions, according to the criticism.
In June, Toyota Material Handlings pulled service and maintenance workers off the job at Northvolt Ett to maintain a minimum service level. This followed three deaths this year of employees there. Director of human resources, Annika Dörner, said they would await police reports into the deaths before deciding next steps. She declined to comment further when asked by BEST.
In a statement, Swedish police said they are investigating whether the deaths of the Skellefteå workers were linked. The autopsies had not been conclusive, it said. It is checking one report that one of the deceased may have been exposed to a substance at the factory.
Northvolt did not reply to our enquiries about workplace health and safety but said in its annual report its goal is to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses. CEO Peter Carlsson said on LinkedIn – in a rebuttal of a critical article: “We try to focus on our business, our customers and our employees instead of commenting on all different articles on Northvolt right now.”
The head health and safety official of the IF Metall union at the plant told Swedish broadcaster SVT the deaths had received disproportionate media attention. According to the company’s 2023 annual report, the total recordable injury frequency rate fell to 3.73 in 2023 from 5.88 in 2022.
It stated that investment spending was $200–300 million per month last year, its heaviest investment year yet. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $569 million, compared to a $276 million loss in 2022. Revenue went up to $128 million from $107 million in 2022. Total equity at end-2023 was $8.5 billion compared to $7.3 billion a year earlier. Employee headcount went up to 5,860 at end-2023 from 4,167 a year before. Installed capacity was 16GWh at the end of 2023, up from 7GWh.
The company said it is aiming for a 25% market share in Europe by 2030 with production capacity of 150GWh. The order book was worth $53 billion at the end of 2023 compared to $55 billion a year earlier.
