Sweden has embarked on a $100 billion effort to remake some of the world’s dirtiest industries. But troubles at battery maker Northvolt, one of the first movers, are sowing doubt the ambitious plans can succeed.
Rachel Doran, vice-president of policy and strategy at Clean Energy Canada, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the outlook for Canada's EV market.
Success is far from guaranteed. The steel factory built by Stegra AB is part of a cluster of projects backed by Vargas Holding AB, a Swedish impact investor whose mission is to cut global emissions by 1% — the equivalent of annual carbon pollution from Australia. But its other big industrial bet, an electric-vehicle battery maker called Northvolt AB, is now running out of cash and facing an uncertain future.
But the stakes are high and, from the corridors of power in Stockholm to the dinner tables of Boden, Sweden’s green revolution is being fiercely debated. A few hours drive along deserted roads northwest of Boden, Svenska Kraftnat AB, Sweden’s high-voltage grid operator, is working furiously to expand the region’s electricity system.
“Today, the demand for grid capacity is several times that of what is available,” says Vattenfall Eldistribution’s Customer and Markets Director Cecilia Zetterstrom. “Many of our customers want a connection in the next few years and almost all before 2030.” There’s genuine concern there could be an electricity deficit in that part of the country, according to Daniel Gustafsson, Svenska Kraftnat’s head of power system. He says the nation will need an additional nuclear reactor’s worth of electricity per year based on existing industrial plans. “It’s very, very ambitious.”
Still, the project has come to dominate small town life. Residents are worried the influx of workers stresses their municipal services and infrastructure. A housing crisis across Sweden means that construction is nowhere near what’s needed to accommodate a surge of new arrivals from around the world.
Officials are counting on these new residents to pay taxes and help ease Boden’s ballooning debt. They had projected that the population would hit 30,000 this year after adding 1,800 people. But in the town’s latest strategic plan published in June, the estimate was revised down to just 12 newcomers in 2024. The municipality aims to have nearly 33,000 residents by 2030.
Materials Business Markets Consumer Goods Retail Consumer Discretionary Company News Engineering & Construction Svc Electricitry Generation Europe Top Europe Iron & Steel Financials General Government Industrials Industry Manufactured Goods Metals & Mining Energy Politics Real Estate Technology Communications Top News Utilities World Top World
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Examining the lack of a Pepe trend: Key conditions for the next big movePepe saw a decline in active addresses and trading volume in recent days, and the liquidity chart showed a price dip could be imminent.
Read more »
Nike’s next big problem? Teens.Add another item for new Nike (NKE) CEO Elliott Hill to fix: winning back teens who have moved on to other brands for sneakers and apparel. According to the ...
Read more »
Why BRISE could be the next big crypto for 2024?Analysts predict Bitgert will continue in this momentum and experience a bullish jump of up to 3000%. Bitgert is on a positive incline...
Read more »
Big oil's big payouts under strain as energy prices fallLONDON (Reuters) -Major energy companies are set to borrow billions to maintain shareholder payouts or cut the rate of share repurchases in the face of a...
Read more »
Big chain, big change: Two longtime businesses pull out of downtown VictoriaFoot traffic is usually what keeps a business thriving, but at Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street in downtown Victoria that's not the case.
Read more »
Big rigs bring big smiles at the Construction Parade for CHEOWhether it was a big truck, or a small one, the construction trucks rolling past the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) on Saturday had a very important job, and it's putting smiles on the faces of little ones.
Read more »