18
ticularly young people? ‘This part of
the world has so much more to offer
than cheap and clean energy alone,’
says Christoffer Svanberg of business
consultancy Node Pole who helps
investors pick the best location for
their production facilities. Major ener-
gy consumers such as data centres are
among his clients.
‘Obviously, most young people prefer
to live in a big city rather that a small
one in the north where the winters are
long and cold,’ he adds. ‘Skelleftea
may be a small city but it has plenty to
offer: it’s safe and clean and we have
a lot of space. What’s more, we have
beautiful nature and great facilities for
both winter sports and summer activi-
ties.’
…AND A COOL HOTEL
Meanwhile, Skelleftea itself puts a lot
of effort into being an attractive place
Why start such a project in northern
Sweden? ‘Obviously you need a mas-
sive amount of electricity for such pro-
duction site and here we find suffi-
cient green energy and relatively
cheap energy,’ he points out.
Northvolt will supply the fast-growing
global market of e-mobility.
Carmakers such as BMW, VW and
Volvo, as well as energy producers
Hydro and Vattenfall, are among the
investing partners.
Part of the plant is currently in opera-
tion, with more than 1 500 people
already onsite. By mid 2023, accord-
ing to Ylikangas, Northvolt plans to
have its 20 000 m2 recycling facility
(total complex to cover 500 000
metres) up and running and will recruit
an estimated 2 500 extra workforce as
production ramps up. ‘WE NEED
ENGINEERS! – LOTS OF
ENGINEERS!’, the company website
shouts.
CHASING TALENTS
The question is where to find them?
Obviously not locally in the sparsely
populated (450 000 people) and age-
ing north of Sweden. The answer is
outside Sweden, mostly. Companies
like Northvolt, together with local
municipalities, have declared a chal-
lenging ambition for the next decade
to attract 100 000 people from all
over the world to settle and help
make the green transition happen.
‘It’s not only highly educated people
we’re looking for,’ says Chana Svensson
of Swedish recruitment bureau Mind
Dig. ‘For every engineer, you need at
least three other people. Nurses, hair-
dressers, restaurant waiters, you name
it. Not to mention construction workers;
in the coming years, some 4 000 new
homes have to be built.’
The inflow of newcomers is clearly
happening. In the bars and restaurants
of Skelleftea, you hear English,
Spanish, Chinese spoken by people
hoping to build a new, happy life in
what Svensson calls ‘the Silicon Valley
of Arctic Europe’.
NATURAL BEAUTY…
What does it take to make a city and
region attractive for newcomers, par-
In a dense forest outside Skelleftea, a city some 200 km south of the Arctic Circle,
battery giant Northvolt is building what is claimed to be the world’s greenest bat-
tery manufacturing plant. It’s a multi-billion-Euro project and it’s huge, as visitors
can see from a hill overlooking the site. ‘Once completed, the total complex will
cover an area four times that of the Pentagon,’ says Ingemar Ylikangas, director of
business development at Revolt, Northvolt’s battery recycling unit.
The lobby of The Wood Hotel, Skelleftea’s new landmark.
The region offers plenty of outdoor activities to attract newcomers. Northvolt’s giga factory near Skelleftea. © Northvolt
©
V
is
it
S
ke
lle
ft
ea
16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23_countryreport-northsweden.indd 18 03-02-2023 13:53
