Volvo Battery Mariestad Operation AB – that is the name of the battery cell factory planned for Mariestad, which aims to produce 300,000 tonnes of batteries upon completion.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently visited the site of the future factory. Work has already begun; a road has been constructed, and windows in buildings slated for demolition have been boarded up with plywood to prepare for the enormous plant.
The paper reports some staggering figures:
According to DN, battery production will require 2,255 gigawatt hours per year – approximately 1.5 percent of Sweden’s total electricity consumption. The energy company will need to deliver 420 megawatts, significantly more than the requirement for Northvolt’s factory in Skellefteå.
The municipality of Mariestad, currently home to 24,500 residents, is expected to grow by 10,000 people. The factory’s main buildings are planned to be up to 800 metres in length and 200 metres in width.
Following Northvolt’s bankruptcy and the uncertainty surrounding Novo’s factory in Gothenburg, some now hope that Skaraborg will become the true launchpad for Sweden’s battery production.
However, according to DN, the project is already behind schedule. Construction should have commenced by now, but demand for electric vehicles has not grown quickly enough.
The application for an environmental permit must also be approved. After that, initial groundwork is still a couple of years away, according to construction manager Victor Bertilson.
He declined to comment on Northvolt’s situation, telling DN:
– It’s unfortunate for the green transition that that investment didn’t succeed. Because this industry is needed, he said.