Explaining Northvolt’s Bankruptcy and the Dilemma of Green Deals

Christian Sandström ()
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Christian Sandström: Linnaeus University

A chapter in A Green Entrepreneurial State?, 2026, pp 203-217 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This study analyzes how and why green deals may create failed companies by exploring the recent bankruptcy of Northvolt, Europe’s most extensive effort to create an independent battery factory on the continent. By 2023, Northvolt had expanded to a staff of nearly 6,000. Yet, its efforts to reach industrial scale encountered major setbacks, leaving the company reliant on Chinese equipment and expertise, even though public funding had been justified on grounds of European self-sufficiency. Four reasons why Northvolt developed into one of the largest bankruptcies in modern European history are identified. Public support distorted corporate incentives, and Northvolt ended up taking too much risk. Capabilities take time to develop, but the political and financial logic pushed for more rapid expansion. At the same time, cognitive biases and a sense of urgency surrounding environmental concerns created a consensus landscape in Sweden where the headquarters and first plant were located.

Keywords: Green deal; Northvolt; Batteries; Mission-oriented; Sustainability; H50; L26; L52; O31; O38; P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:inschp:978-3-032-15512-2_11

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-15512-2_11

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