Northvolt plans to improve battery energy efficiency, while making other advances in energy density and power in battery cells over the next 5 to 10 years.

“I’m trying to show Europe that carbon-free energy can be better stored and distributed with higher quality and lower costs and made more sustainable and truly available,” Carlsson says. “I want to inspire change and flick a switch for Europe.”

Combustion engines and the environment

Northvolt should be helped by the recent problems with diesel emissions, says the EIB’s Locci. “The diesel emissions scandals have shed a further negative light on the capacity of combustion engines to respect environmental standards,” he says. “But the success of electric vehicles will depend on the pace at which advanced batteries allow car manufacturers to offer vehicles that can cover the same distances as combustion engines.”

Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission vice president in charge of energy policy, says there are big economic benefits to supporting companies like Northvolt, because the battery market could be worth many billions of euros in the near future.

"Batteries are a strategic component of European competitiveness,” Šefčovič says, “and to capture a new European market worth €250 billion annually as of 2025, we need to act fast.”