At the end of October, the Nordic and Baltic regional meeting took place in conjunction with the Nordbatt conference at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
The Baltic countries have a long experience in the field of electrochemistry and an industrial base in its manufacturing. This is nowadays being complemented by a lively start-up scene, Dr. Linas Vilčiauskas at the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FMTC), Vilnius, Lithuania, told us.
Norway is not streamlined in EV manufacturing, despite having the highest proportion of EVs in the world, and a strong process industry, according to Anita Fossdal, senior advisor at Enova SF. In June Norway presented its battery strategy, with the vision that “Norway will develop a battery value chain, stretching from sustainable mineral extraction to recycling.”
Finland’s national agenda “National Battery Strategy 2025” leans toward the European agenda, Ilkka Homanen, from Business Finland said. When it comes to battery research Aalto University has a main profile for raw materials and recycling. University of Oulo focus on sustainable battery chemicals and pouch cells for Li-ion and Na-ion materials, while University of Turku concentrates on flow batteries and more applied aspects.
Denmark has no long history in battery research, but has stepped up during the last ten years, according to Lars Barkler, battery product director at Fluence in Denmark. DTU is the main actor for implementing machine learning models and AI to accelerate materials discovery while Aarhus University focuses on different battery electrodes, solid state electrolytes and flow batteries.
Sweden has a long history of battery research, and on the industrial side Northvolt has emerged as a strong player. Uppsala University and Chalmers are at the forefront of battery research, but also other universities like KTH, Lund’s and Linköping’s universities are involved in different research projects. The Ångström Advanced Battery Centre (ÅABC), is the largest battery research group in the Nordic countries.
There are raw materials in the ground, a tradition of mining, refining and a strong process industry in the Nordics, said Ilka von Dalwigk from Innoenergy. Furthermore, we have a high level of educated people, relatively inexpensive energy, and stable conditions for investment.
Europe has just started to journey to take back production. The Nordics are a frontrunner!
