Northvolt Ett is located just south of the Arctic Circle. During winter, that means short days, cold weather and persistent snow. On days like this though, the factory looks right at home – quietly producing sustainable batteries using 100% clean energy. The crisp air with a slight scent of pine trees doesn’t hurt either.
Located at Skellefteå on the Gulf of Bothnia in the Swedish province of Norrland the location benefits from plentiful hydropower from the local municipally-owned power company. Sources of nickel and cobalt also exist not far away in Sweden and Finland. To facilitate the the availability of these key metals and to improve communication in general throughout Norrland a new railway will shortly be completed, halving passenger journey times and reducing transport costs by 30%. And maybe in the future they could use some of that prospective Cornish lithium?
(“ett” is Swedish for “one”. Complimentary factories are planned for sites in Poland and Portugal. Picture and first para from Northvolt)