Reality bites

On November 12, 2024, Dagens PS Media AB, a Swedish business-oriented online newspaper, reported that Volkswagen's investment manager, Sven Fuhrman, is leaving Northvolt's board. Northvolt confirms the defection but says it is in dialogue with Volkswagen about a replacement.

Volkswagen is Northvolt's largest owner with 22% of the shares. In addition, Volkswagen is the majority shareholder in the truck manufacturer Scania, one of Northvolt's most important customers.

Northvolt's CEO, Peter Carlsson, has said on previous occasions that he is concerned about the company's future and that the company needs to lock an additional $837,000,000 to secure the company's future. On September 17, 2024, a Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter (DN), reported that the current Swedish government has no intention of giving more tax money to Northvolt. Personally, I think this has contributed to Volkswagen leaving Northvolt.

The same procedure took place when Vattenfall, a European energy company, decided to temporarily pause the development of the Svenska Kriegers Flak offshore wind project earlier this fall, because investment terms AKA tax money were not available.

Could a waning interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) among investors be a sign that investors are beginning to understand that ESG does not put food on the table and a roof over their heads?

AI generated image with Grok