Billion losses affected by Northvolt: Schleswig-Holstein's taxpayers!

Billion losses affected by Northvolt: Schleswig-Holstein's taxpayers!

Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Deutschland - The bankruptcy of Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturer, has the potential to trigger a huge tax money debacle for Germany. "[Merkur] (https://www.merkur.de/wirtschaft/ tax money-debakel-bei-bebakel-projekt- and-schleswig-holstein-Milliarden-ZR-93782481.html) reported that the incapacity could probably cost more than a billion euros." This sum amounts to the investments that BUND and Schleswig-Holstein put into the planned work in Heide. In 2020, the federal government took over a guarantee of 430 million euros for the main plant in Northern Sweden and agreed to another guarantee of 600 million euros at the end of 2023. This financial support was planned to strengthen the company and possibly create equity, whereby the federal government would have received shares.

But the situation has now changed dramatically. Northvolt had once been celebrated as a Europe's hoping for independent battery, but reports on massive losses in 2023 made the alarm bells ring. "NDR emphasizes that the company has now applied for chapter to reorganize its finances. This could mean that the believer claims are set up or reduced" Northvolt can give a breath of breathing. The managers can keep their positions and no insolvency administrator is used, which is unusual in Germany.

The effects on the region and the jobs

Originally, Northvolt had planned to create over 3,000 new jobs in Heide. Now, however, the construction work is uncertain about the future of many people in the region. According to the reporting, the current status of the construction work could lead to another setback for Schleswig-Holstein and the entire German battery cell production. Prime Minister Daniel Günther also underlines the urgency to establish its own production line in Germany.

"[Nau] (https://www.nau.ch/ews/wirtschaft/europas-batterihoffnung-northvolt-in-in-in-in-in-in-in- 66934783) adds that despite the bankruptcy, construction work in Heide should continue, even if it remains unclear that new investors will come into play and to save the factory and Stabilizing the parent company in Sweden.

lack of transparency and further uncertainties

A profound problem is the lack of information that was communicated throughout the entire process by Northvolt, as has not been informed in good time about financial problems. The committee of inquiry of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament will have to deal intensively with the responsibilities and processes. So far, hundreds of pages have been released by Northvolt files, but a lot of information remained blackened, which made it difficult to clarify the predicament.

The federal government sees the development of battery cell production as a strategic concern for national and European industry. It is estimated that 90 percent of the battery requirement within the EU will be covered by 2030. Nevertheless, the path is long, because other projects, such as the planned battery factory at Opel in Kaiserslautern, are also on ice.

After all, the bankruptcy of Northvolt could not only change the economic landscape in Germany, but also the future development of electromobility. After all, even if the industry has currently cooled - the demand for batteries remains the driving engine of the next few years. The next steps of Northvolt and the reactions of investors will be crucial for further development. The Schleswig-Holstein region and the German vehicle industry can therefore hope for a glimmer of hope while the uncertainties continue.