The former CEO of bankrupt battery factory Northvolt, Peter Carlsson, is to be questioned by Swedish police over an employee’s death, alleged to have been the result of workplace safety violations, according to reports.
Northvolt cofounder Carlsson is to be questioned in connection with an incident in late 2023, in which a 25-year-old man died following an explosion at the company’s Northvolt Ett site in Skellefteå. He suffered severe burns and died from extensive injuries several weeks later.
According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Carlsson is expected to be questioned in relation to a person’s death through alleged workplace safety violations. Swedish public radio station SR Ekot subsequently confirmed this with prosecutor Christer B Jarlås, who said Carlsson was not the only one who has or will be questioned in relation with the incident. Up to eight people from Northvolt are expected to be questioned in total.
“All those we question are notified of suspicion. We have to do that to use the interviews in the investigation and so they can be assigned legal representation,” Jarlås told Aftonbladet. Two people have so far been assigned lawyers, Aftonbladet reports.
The 2023 explosion is not the only deadly incident to have been recorded at the company. Less than a month after the Northvolt Ett explosion, another worker died in a crane accident, which also occurred at Northvolt Ett, the main battery factory. The police also investigated three unexplained deaths among Northvolt employees in 2024, but closed the investigation in December of last year.
Once considered a poster child among Europe’s most promising climate techs, Northvolt has battled to stay afloat. In March of this year, the battery-maker filed for bankruptcy in Sweden, bringing its long-running financial drama to a head.
Last week, Sifted reported that the company would cease operating by the end of June, after losing its last remaining customer.
Jarlås tells Aftonbladet the investigation has been made more difficult following the company’s bankruptcy. Before the bankruptcy, it would have been sufficient to show that someone at the company was responsible for the accident; now the prosecutor must identify individual people who can be held accountable.
Jarlås also says he has had difficulties clarifying Northvolt’s organisational structure and the division of responsibility at the battery factory. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I’ve never encountered a company with such an unclear chain of delegation, where it’s not evident who is responsible. It hasn’t been easy,” he tells Aftonbladet.
Sifted approached Northvolt for a comment.
