After a major battery company in Sweden went bankrupt, it blamed the advanced Chinese products, causing a wave of questioning at the press conference!

In early 2026, the European power battery industry suffered a major blow — the Swedish battery company Northvolt (Northvolt), which had been highly anticipated, officially filed for bankruptcy in its home country. This company, established in 2016 and known as "the CATL of Europe," burned through $15 billion in financing, underwent 14 rounds of funding, and received backing from giants such as Volkswagen, but ultimately failed to overcome the challenges of capacity ramp-up and delivery pressure. However,

what was more surprising was that after the bankruptcy, some Swedish media turned their blame toward Chinese equipment suppliers, claiming that "untested Chinese machines" were the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Previously, when EU officials responded to journalists' questions about Northvolt, they vaguely hinted that "non-European technical standards may affect the security of the local supply chain," immediately causing a wave of boos. Several industry reporters from Germany and France questioned, "If the equipment was indeed problematic, why can South Korean, Hungarian, and even German battery plants using the same equipment operate stably?" The situation became awkward.

What is the truth? Let's first look at the equipment itself. All products exported to the EU have passed CE certification and undergone compliance testing by third-party institutions. Moreover, these machines have already been deployed in SK On's factory in Hungary, ACC's production lines in France, and宁德时代's super factory in Germany's Thuringia, with good operational records and no systemic failures.

Then let's look at Northvolt's own problems. According to public financial statements and industry analysis, Northvolt has had hidden dangers since the beginning of its factory construction: the main factory was set up in a small town in northern Sweden, Shetland, where the population is sparse and the climate is extremely cold, making it difficult to recruit staff and resulting in logistics costs much higher than the industry average. More importantly, its production process has long been unstable, with a yield rate consistently below 80%, far below the 95% threshold required for mass production of power batteries. In 2024, BMW canceled a 2 billion euro order due to the inability to deliver battery cells on time and substandard quality — this directly cut off Northvolt's most important source of cash flow.

At the same time, the overall battery ecosystem in Europe is not yet mature. Compared to China, which has formed a complete closed-loop system from lithium ore purification, positive and negative electrode materials, separators and electrolytes, cell assembly, and recycling, most raw materials in Europe still need to be imported, and the local supply chain is fragmented. Even with policy support, it is difficult to make up for the huge gap in technology and engineering experience.

Facing Northvolt's collapse, EU insiders actually know the real issue is not China. But under great pressure, some officials tried to shift the focus — for example, pushing new rules requiring Chinese companies to "share core technologies" when applying for EU green subsidies. This kind of de facto technology-for-market strategy has been firmly opposed by China and also caused controversy within the European industrial sector. The German Automotive Suppliers Association privately admitted, "The only ones who can guarantee supply are Asian companies. If more barriers are set, the goal of banning internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035 will be impossible to achieve."

Original: toutiao.com/article/1856366690694156/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.