Incredibly embarrassing for Europe and Sweden. Even with billions of investments from the big car companies, investors and many millions in subsidies, they simply couldn’t make it work at all. Instead of buying the California startup just to shut it down, should’ve invested most of their money there instead. They are leaving an enormous eyesore in the northern Sweden landscape with thoudands of people unemployed, many of which may be deported now, with very little to show for it other than many scandals (including paying millions of dollars in bonus to their incompetent executives even as they file for bankruptcy)!
There is also this Czech failed battery startup "HE3DA". It went from revolutionary to evolutionary to "well, there is at least one parameter (robustness) that's better than lithium batteries" to "hmm the measurements don't quite match the specs". There were individual investors, big show for opening a factory (with capacity of 1.4GWH we were told; actual batteries sold in 2024: single digit MWhs). Now they fired almost everyone and can't pay their bills<p><a href="https://www.e15.cz/byznys/prumysl-a-energetika/pravda-o-baterkarne-he3da-firma-ma-dluhy-je-na-prodej-ale-kupce-se-ji-najit-nedari-1419261" rel="nofollow">https://www.e15.cz/byznys/prumysl-a-energetika/pravda-o-bate...</a>
Seems like Northvolt never really had a product. Can someone please explain why people invest billions in companies that have not sorted out how to build what they want to sell?
That there is no focus the actual failure,
and that is a secondary failure,ongoing.
Engineering, production, know what a millwright is?
The bros thought they could bluff there way through a parts per billion production line,and just hire people,strut around and
go to meetings.Anylise things.
Better batteries are made from materials that are known and consistant to parts per billion.The mechanical assembly has to be
within microns.Every parameter of temperature and humidity must be known and controlled at every stage.
It is a long tradition in some shops, that when the brozecutives show up, they are taken to the maitenence department and allowed to chat with the janitor, but never see the actual shop floor, and never know the difference.
Look at boeing to see what happens when the bros think they can optimise, purely
engineering descisions, that are already
finely tuned.
Want to build an engineering company?
Also discussed here[1] a few days ago.<p>[1]: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42210855">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42210855</a> <i>Sweden's Northvolt files for bankruptcy, in blow to Europe's EV ambitions</i>
It was also reported that Northvolt now wants to pay 59 MSEK in bonuses to 230 employees.
Despite firing over 1200 people and with 2.5 BSEK debts to suppliers.
The promise that needed 1 billion in subsidies to build a new plant? As soon as the government got involved it was clear they couldn't be profitable on their own.
I'm curious how China makes it work. No doubt they also have dedicated, smart and educated people - I guess no massive shortage of that in Europe either. Central government is often considered to be somewhat corrupt and incompetent, so in any case not hugely better than in Europe. I'm sure there's more know-how, but that came from somewhere too.<p>What is the difference then? Willingness to work for lower wages? Greater determination? State subsidies? It's not like Chinese universities have a great reputation en masse. It's also clearly not IP theft (alone) since they are the leader - who would they steal from?<p>If it's subsidies, then China must be taking the subsidy money from somewhere. It's not, as I understand, a non-social, cutthroat capitalist country. Retirement age is something like 55. Is Chinese hegemony in battery production effectively subsidised by underpaid peasants? But surely the image of guys in sloping hats rolling rice paddies desperately outdated; I don't expect Chinese farming to be behind European in terms of technology.<p>So if it's subsidies, then where is the money coming from, that European governments clearly don't have?
Europe is entering a crisis of unprecedented proportions. This isn't just an isolated incident, one bad company, this is a trend. It used to be that subsidies managed to balance out the over-regulation, high labor costs and powerful pressure groups Europe was known for. Now it's no longer the case.<p>There used to be a technological edge European countries (especially in the west) could rely on, which made them more suitable for some business. But now it's gone, almost everywhere. Exception is couple of important, but niche industries, which are seen as being of strategic interest (Airbus, ASML, Arianne). But they too feel the pinch now, as the supply chains get more fragile, new talent leaves, or doesn't even show up, and foreign powers prop up their own alternatives.<p>Add incapable, or shortsighted, political leadership, aging population, hostile, or at least unfriendly, neighbors and rising political extremism, and you get a particularly deadly mix.<p>Unfortunately, the top institutions have shown almost zero acceptance of the fact.
In that sort of situation the only "hope" is that the collapse will be relatively quick, allowing for some rebuilding to start before the next decade ends. If we are lucky.
NV bought manufacturing equipment for $2B from China, now left in the lurch during bring-up, supplier dragging their heels, sending 3rd rate support engineers. Of course, China doesn't want to support a competitor in Europe...<p>Classic rogue state hybrid warfare, just as cut cables in baltic, also by Chinese. Plausible deniability all the way.<p><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/baltic-cable-sabotage-nato-1988689" rel="nofollow">https://www.newsweek.com/baltic-cable-sabotage-nato-1988689</a>