When the flagship runs aground

The electrification transition is reshaping the industrial landscape, making sustainable battery value chains strategically important for climate goals, the automotive industry, and regional development. Sweden and the EU have made substantial investments to establish a competitive battery industry, with Northvolt serving as the most prominent example. Its bankruptcy is a major setback for individuals, companies, and local communities. At the same time, it creates opportunities for new actors and technologies to emerge and provides an opportunity to reflect on how large-scale industrial transformation projects can be designed to be more robust.

The overall aim of the project is to develop knowledge on how sustainable and resilient battery value chains can be rebuilt following an industrial failure. The project focuses on two dimensions. The first concerns industrial networks: how companies, public actors, and other key stakeholders act to rebuild networks and strengthen their position within the global value chain. The second concerns governance and coordination: how responsibilities, resources, and decision-making can be aligned across municipalities, regions, national governments, and the EU.

Previous transition research has primarily examined how emerging actor networks, technological solutions, policy interventions, social institutions, and individual behaviors interact and evolve over time. Far less attention has been devoted to understanding what happens when a central node in an emerging system suddenly collapses. Northvolt functioned as a hub connecting investors, suppliers, customers, research environments, and public authorities. Its bankruptcy has left a void in the network while simultaneously exposing shortcomings in coordination across different levels of governance.

The project brings together researchers from Chalmers and RISE with expertise in industrial transformation, innovation systems, and policy analysis. We combine quantitative network analysis, text- and interview-based studies, and comparative case study methods. This approach enables us to map how actor relationships have evolved before, during, and after the bankruptcy, and to identify governance models that perform effectively under conditions of high uncertainty. The knowledge generated will be disseminated through multiple scientific publications, as well as policy reports and workshops aimed at public authorities and other stakeholders in the battery ecosystem. The ultimate goal is to strengthen the capacity of Sweden and the EU to build resilient, sustainable, and competitive battery value chains.