Volvo Cars and Northvolt to open Gothenburg battery R&D centre
Swedish companies Volvo Cars and Northvolt will open a joint research and development (R&D) centre in Gothenburg, which will create a few hundred highly-skilled jobs in the city. The new centre is part of a SEK 30 billion investment in battery development and manufacturing.
“It concerns new highly-qualified jobs, which are important in a business community that creates sustainable growth for the Gothenburg region as a whole. These are jobs for the future. The centre will attract expertise from across the world and we are ready to assist through International House Gothenburg,” says Henrik Einarsson, Director of Business Establishment and Investment at Business Region Göteborg.
The R&D centre, which will become operational in 2022, will position Volvo Cars as one of the few automotive brands to make battery cell development and production part of its end-to-end engineering capabilities.
The establishment of the new R&D centre in Gothenburg will be followed by the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Europe. It will produce next generation state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed for use in next generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars. The exact location of the plant is expected to be confirmed in early 2022.
“Our partnership with Northvolt secures the supply of high-quality, sustainably-produced batteries for the next generation of pure electric Volvos,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive for Volvo Cars in a press release. “It will strengthen our core competencies and our position in the transformation to a fully electric car company.”
Gothenburg's largest employer
Volvo Cars, which is headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg, is the largest private employer in the Gothenburg region and employs around 16,500 people.
Business Region Göteborg warmly welcomes Volvo Cars and Northvolt's investment in the new R&D centre.
“We in the Gothenburg region, and Sweden as an industrial country, want and need to be a part of solving the climate challenge. It’s here that new jobs are being created. I would especially like to welcome Northvolt to Gothenburg. It’s very exciting that they want to invest in this region,” says Patrik Andersson, chief executive for Business Region Göteborg.
The new R&D centre will create a few hundred direct jobs, as well as many more indirect jobs in the region.
“The investment shows that Gothenburg is an attractive location for businesses that are helping drive the transition towards sustainability. More than 1/3 of Sweden’s business R&D investments are already taking place in Gothenburg’s county and this further strengthens the region’s position as Sweden’s innovation powerhouse,” says Business Region Göteborg's Henrik Einarsson.
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