Frequently asked questions

Ten years ago, Skellefteå municipality faced a declining population, falling tax revenues and the risks of an eroding welfare that such a development entails. At that time, the municipality decided to invest in order to grow, most importantly by taking advantage of our assets in the form of renewable energy and industrial expertise.

This decision means that Skellefteå is now at the forefront of the green transition. In recent years, Skellefteå municipality has had Sweden's highest population growth and lowest unemployment, while a variety of companies have chosen to invest here.

This is work that everyone in the municipality should be proud of and that we have done together. It has also produced very good results and has meant that many companies, not just Northvolt, have chosen and continue to choose to invest in Skellefteå. This work has been and will continue to be extremely important.

We are working closely with the business community, Region Västerbotten, the Västerbotten County Administrative Board, the Public Employment Service and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to find ways to help those who have lost their jobs to find new ones. At the same time, we are raising the level of preparedness for our own adult education and for universities and other education providers in the region to be able to meet training needs that may arise.

It is natural for municipalities to fluctuate. Skellefteå municipality is no exception and has a good ability to scale up and down its operations. But unlike many other cities where large employers have closed down, relocated or made extensive redundancies, the people working at Northvolt have not lived in the municipality for very long. They have not had time to settle down, have children, grow old and so on.

The need for increased municipal services as a result of the incoming workforce at Northvolt has therefore been unusually small, calculated per employee. This means that Skellefteå municipality has not yet expanded welfare services at the same rate as the number of employees has increased at Northvolt. Although more preschools, schools and the like are being built in Skellefteå than before, this is an effect of a development that started before Northvolt's establishment.

What we have needed to invest in as a result of the workforce moving to Northvolt is, for example, public transport and the expansion of bicycle paths. Public transport is easy to adjust downwards if the need arises, which does not mean a financial blow to the municipality's residents. And the bicycle paths, well, they are an established asset for everyone in the municipality and can be used for a long time. Skellefteå municipality is not faced with an unmanageable overcapacity if those who moved here to work at Northvolt for some reason were to leave Skellefteå.

On the contrary, the need for investment remains high and there are many other factors that contribute to increased growth and new residents. This applies not least to the business community's investments and the investments in Skellefteå Universities Alliance.

This is of course bad news for Skellefteå, and especially for those who risk losing their jobs. Northvolt has played a major role in the municipality's development in recent years, but it is important to remember that Skellefteå's industrial boost and the green transition are much bigger than one company.

A number of major business establishments and important investments are underway or planned in the coming years, to name a few: Skellefteå Kraft's industrial investment in renewable aviation fuel, Port of Skellefteå, Arctic Centre of Energy, Wibax, Fumex and Schenker.

Skellefteå as a municipality has important assets that will be in demand to meet a sustainable future. Renewable energy, a great deal of industrial know-how and strong universities mean that we are at the forefront of innovation and technological development. Most importantly, Skellefteå municipality is a good place to live, as shown by the large influx of new residents who choose to live here.

Many local companies have put their heart and soul into supporting the battery factory expansion. Several local companies have hired and invested to meet Northvolt's expansion needs and many of them may be affected. We do not know the exact extent at present, but it will become clearer later, although the completed survey gives us some estimate and guidance in the work that is taking place. You can read more about initiatives aimed at the local business community here. External link.

A municipality's toolbox is limited when it comes to helping businesses in financial crisis, but there are other public actors that can. For example, Region Västerbotten has introduced support in the form of a temporary skills check aimed at affected companies. In the survey, requests were raised for help with networking and skills enhancement initiatives, and Skellefteå Municipality can help with this.

The simple answer is that Skellefteå municipality does not invest in individual companies, but in the community. Following Northvolt's announcement to establish operations in Skellefteå, Skellefteå municipality has invested SEK 150 million in infrastructure for the industrial area where the battery factory is now located, as well as pedestrian and bicycle paths there. The area was already designated as an industrial area before Northvolt's announcement and the investments would have been made sooner or later anyway. These investments are, of course, an established asset that the municipality will continue to benefit from, regardless of what happens to Northvolt. Even if Northvolt were to close down its entire business, there is no indication that the industrial land would have to remain unused for any length of time. Skellefteå municipality invests in community development, not in individual companies.

The municipal energy company Skellefteå Kraft was one of the players that took an early stake in Northvolt, investing SEK 100 million.

Neither the costs nor the work involved in completing Northvolt's industrial site were radically different from other industrial sites in the municipality. Here are some examples of other industrial sites in which the municipality has invested in recent years:

• Hammarängen, SEK 115 million
• Bergsbyn Business Park, SEK 95 million
• Site East, SEK 155 million.

No, that is wrong and a misconception. The figure of SEK 42 billion comes from the municipal group's future investment plan and refers to the entire period 2024-2034. The group includes, for example, the municipally owned energy company Skellefteå Kraft and the housing company Skebo. Of the SEK 42 billion, approximately SEK 31 billion is investments planned by the municipal companies, the majority of which relate to investments for Skellefteå Kraft. These investments are always assessed on a commercial basis before they are started. The municipality's own investments for the next 10-year period amount to approximately SEK 11 billion, of which almost half relate to activities financed by fees, such as water and sewage fees and waste management fees or the development of, for example, industrial sites. The rest is investment in schools, cultural and leisure facilities, streets, roads and parks. Most of these investments can be stopped if it turns out that the needs change. Over the past three years, the municipality has financed 100% of its investments with its own money. Over the next ten years, the municipality plans to maintain a high self-financing rate of around 80%.

The new port is an investment to meet the new transport needs of the whole region and has been in the pipeline for at least a decade, long before the establishment of Northvolt. For several years now, the trend has been for ships to become larger, which places new demands on ports, which must be able to offer longer and deeper quays and improvements to the fairway. It is therefore necessary to develop the port so that Skellefteå can continue to be a good location for large industrial companies. The new port will be able to accommodate more and larger ships than the existing port, while making it easier to transfer cargo from road to rail.

Total construction costs are estimated at SEK 1.4 billion. The project has also received support from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and the EU Regional Fund, totalling around SEK 100 million. In the long term, the municipality expects the investment to pay off and the port to be self-sustaining through harbour dues.

An important measure of a municipality's financial stability is its equity ratio. This shows how much of its assets are financed with its own money. For a household with a single-family home, this could be the value of the home and the family's savings in relation to the mortgage. Skellefteå Municipality currently has an equity ratio of 60 percent. In this case, the figure includes the municipality's entire pension liability, an amount that is not always included in the calculation of the municipality's equity ratio. With an equity ratio of 60 percent, Skellefteå Municipality's finances are among the strongest in the country. The municipality has no debt in tax-funded activities such as schools and care. The municipal companies Skebo and Skellefteå Kraft have loans for investments. These investments are always evaluated on a commercial basis. Skellefteå Municipality has some debt in the fee-financed part of the municipality's operations, such as water, sewage and waste.

Northvolt has played a major role in Skellefteå's societal transformation from a declining population and waning confidence to booming growth and a burgeoning green industry. But that transformation began even before Northvolt's decision to establish in 2017. Already in 2015, we set challenging goals and adopted an ambitious development strategy. So Skellefteå's development and green transition is much bigger than Northvolt.

Yes, it was! Skellefteå is the best place in the world to receive energy-intensive investments. We have never had such great advantages as now as an establishment location for industry and nothing has changed with this announcement. We are better equipped today with, among other things, the large supply of green energy, Skellefteå Kraft's investments, the expansion of infrastructure, including the port, well-functioning infrastructure around our industrial areas, housing, Sara Kulturhus, a new travel center that is underway and that Skellefteå municipality has a strong economy. The green transition is important for the whole of Sweden and Europe, and we will continue to be a central cog in it. We have also received a construction start notice for the Norrbotniabanan.

Skellefteå municipality has the conditions and opportunities to receive major establishments in the future as well.

We are constantly working to analyze the needs and conditions for the municipality's planned investments. It is too early to answer that question in detail. The fact that plans need to be adjusted based on changing conditions is not strange in itself for a municipality. Such changes and reprioritizations happen every year.

In Skellefteå municipality, we have had a large deficit of housing and long housing queues for several years. We still see a great need for housing, especially in the more central parts, but we are monitoring developments and will revise our goals and plans if necessary.

We will need to follow this development closely. Among other things, it is about what national efforts are made in the form of education etc. Skellefteå's population development in the near future risks a slowdown, but it is still important to look up, look further and see what we have achieved so far and where we are still heading.

We want as many people as possible to be able to stay in Skellefteå, but we know that this will not be possible. But we hope that as many as possible will be able to stay in Sweden. It's all about what efforts will be made now from the national level.

In the long term, however, we are positive that Skellefteå municipality will continue to grow based on the development strategy that has been developed and based on all the investments that are made in the municipality. Both from the business community and the public sector.

The municipality does everything possible to help those who lose their livelihood and possibly housing. We do this by engaging in dialogue with the labor market and the business community.

When it comes to income supplementation and housing via the social services, the regulations make it difficult to grant support for this type of situation. Individuals need to take their own initiatives to solve subsistence, rent and any travel home. Skellefteå municipality can offer guidance via our staff in Welcome House and through our customer service.

The individual's situation depending on country of origin, own social insurance system, work permit, employment and also linked to union membership can provide different conditions for the individual to solve their situation themselves.