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Billions in taxes for Northvolt: Habeck faces stormy times!
Schleswig-Holstein is in focus because of the insolvency of Northvolt. The debate is concerned with tax losses worth millions, political responsibility and unclear plans for the future.
Billions in taxes for Northvolt: Habeck faces stormy times!
The insolvency of the Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt is causing a lot of talk in the German economy. The effects are already clear: according to estimates, this could cost taxpayers over a billion euros. Investments from the federal government and the state of Schleswig-Holstein have accumulated more than this amount. The aim of this massive financial support was to build a battery factory in Heide that would serve the green mobility transition. But the reality could now look completely different Mercury reported.
In 2020, the federal government provided a guarantee of 430 million euros for the main factory in northern Sweden. At the end of October 2023, Berlin and Kiel agreed to an additional guarantee of 600 million euros in order to provide Northvolt with financial support with a convertible bond. This was intended to build up equity capital, with the promise that the federal government could receive shares in the company if successful. But the situation is serious. Massive losses that have increased tenfold compared to the previous year and the threatened closure of the main plant by the end of June 2025 at the latest raise questions.
Ambiguities and questions of guilt
The entire project is increasingly characterized by a lack of transparency and inconsistencies. How Blackout News According to reports, Economics Minister Robert Habeck has classified a report that potentially addresses critical points as secret. This has led to a storm of indignation among the opposition. Habeck has to answer to the Bundestag, while the CDU and other factions express the suspicion that not everything was done correctly when using taxpayers' money. There is even talk of gross negligence, while the ministry rejects the allegations and points to the protection of company and business secrets.
What is particularly explosive is that 30 percent of Northvolt batteries have significant defects, which further endangers the future of the company. Northvolt's difficulties are not just a national problem; There is also great uncertainty about government intervention in Sweden. In Schleswig-Holstein, the state parliament's investigative committee plans to examine the entire process and clarify responsibility. Former employees report a cumbersome and bureaucratic operation that was more concerned with administrative tasks than with effective production.
International battery policy and the consequences
Northvolt's situation is not isolated. The internationalization of battery policy shows that many countries are making heavy investments in battery research. Loud Fraunhofer ISI Public funding for research and development has increased significantly since 2014, while Germany wants to become climate neutral by 2045 and other countries by 2050. Investments such as the USA with its Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and South Korea with its Secondary Battery Innovation Strategy show that the cards are also being reshuffled in an international context.
Overall, it is clear that the German strategy for independence from international supply chains and the development of new technologies for batteries is more central than ever. The coming months will show whether and how Germany can overcome these challenges as those responsible look for taxpayer money and the opportunities of a green economy.