The future of batteries according to Sweden – Innovation Mission Sweden

From 10 to 12 June 2024, Kalpana Systems joined the Innovation Mission Sweden facilitated by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The goal of the mission was to explore collaboration with Sweden in the field of research, development, production and application of next-gen battery systems.  

Focus on transportation sector 

Automobile and smart mobility are two of the most important industries in Sweden. The country aims to be fossil neutral in 2045 and provides subsidies for buying new electric vehicles (EVs). The expansion of the EV industry stimulates growth of the batteries market, expected to a value of over 2000 million USD. With big names like Volvo, Scania and Northvolt, Sweden is an innovation leader in Europe when it comes to battery development and recycling. It is a pioneer in making the transportation sector fossil neutral.

Innovation Mission Sweden 

All the more reason for the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to facilitate an innovation mission to Sweden. With its mission, RVO aimed to explore collaboration between the Netherlands and Sweden in the field of research, development, production and application of next-gen battery systems. The focus of the mission is on topics that are also subject of two national growth funds ‘Material indepence and Circular Batteries’ and ‘NXTGEN Hightech’:  

• New battery materials, battery cells and components. 

• New production machines and production processes for upscaling nextgen batteries. 

• Application of batteries in heavy duty transport (specifically: trucks). 

Kalpana Systems joined this mission to meet potential partners and learn more about where thin films made with spatial ALD can support the growing needs of the battery market. With a group of more than 20 representatives from partners all across the battery value chain we visited industrials, knowledge institutions and universities with a focus on next generation batteries, recycling, and heavy-duty transport.  

Lessons learned 

At Scania, we saw a fully automated battery production line for the building of Lithium-Ion battery modules for electric trucks. When visiting Volvo’s startup innovation hub Camp X, the urgency was made clear for increased range and fast- charging of batteries in order to transition the transportation sector to clean fuels.  Thore Sekkenes from the European Battery Alliance gave all participants of the mission a wakeup call with his talk stressing that without innovation and new technology development, Europe will severely fall behind on the roadmap towards the 2030 EU sustainability targets.