Seize the opportunity to create an internationally competitive growth cluster for battery manufacturing, electrification and automotive industry
Skellefteå's expertise in electrification and battery production, when combined with the automotive industry in the Västra Götaland region, can form the basis of a world-class research and innovation cluster. This is what the County Administrative Board, the County Council of Västerbotten and Skellefteå Municipality say in a letter to the government.
The automotive industry is central to the climate transition, but has also long been important for Swedish and European industry and employment. If the industry is to remain competitive, Sweden must be able to build and develop strong and competitive innovation and production clusters.
A world-class research and innovation cluster for battery manufacturing, electrification and the automotive industry
Sweden has long had a very strong cluster around the automotive industry in the Västra Götaland region. The development around Skellefteå offers good opportunities to build an internationally competitive growth cluster focused on electrification and battery production. A strategic research and innovation collaboration between these regions could create a very strong world-class cluster collaboration. The government's recently announced investment of SEK 700 million in the "Kraftlyftet" programme over the next three years is a step in the right direction and can be linked to the creation of such a cluster.
’We see an opportunity for the government to make the Skellefteå region an education, research and innovation cluster around advanced battery manufacturing, research and innovation. Such an investment would create the conditions for developing and attracting international expertise, create a breeding ground for new start-ups, strengthen the development capacity of the existing business community and help to make research in the region even more relevant to the local, national and international business community,' says Helene Hellmark Knutsson, County Governor of Västerbotten.
Although Sweden performs well in innovation rankings such as the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), further action is needed to strengthen innovation capacity. Experience shows that cities and regions that are able to develop successful clusters around an industry with high quality education, good conditions for skills supply and research and innovation in close cooperation with the business community create economic development.
Important parts of industrial production are concentrated in certain regions, often in Asia. One example is the production of semiconductors in Taiwan.
’The development is distorted because China, among others, has a very extensive policy of state support, that risks threatening Europe's and Sweden's industrial base. By utilising the knowledge and assets available in Skellefteå and Västra Götaland, Sweden can take a clear position in the electric vehicle industry and battery manufacturing of the future,’ says Lorents Burman, municipal councillor in Skellefteå.
An ongoing initiative is the Skellefteå Universities Alliance (SUA), a cooperation platform where several universities have joined forces to strengthen higher education and research in Skellefteå. The Skellefteå Universities Alliance is also mentioned in the government's strategy for new industrialisation and social change in the counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten. The construction of ACE, the Arctic Centre of Energy, a world-leading centre of excellence for future sustainable energy solutions, is also underway here.
’This is a unique opportunity to create a pilot project for innovative education and research cooperation for the benefit of Sweden’, says Rickard Carstedt (S), Chairman of the Regional Development Committee of the County Council of Västerbotten.