Sweden Seeks Investment and Collaboration on Vehicle and Energy Storage Batteries

STOCKHOLM - June 8, 2009: Sweden hosts a world class automotive cluster with brands such as SAAB Automobile, Scania, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group, some 1,000 suppliers and ABB, a global leader in power and automation technology. Sweden now looks to expand its development of green energy infrastructure for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Delegates from Sweden's automotive industry will be present at booth 703 at the Advanced Automotive Battery & EC Capacitor Conference (AABC '09) in Long Beach, California, on 8-12 June to meet international representatives.

Joint Venture
Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA) aims to attract greenfield investments or set up joint ventures with international battery suppliers to strengthen Sweden's position as the premium region for car and commercial vehicle development in the world.

A pre-study of possible Li-ion battery manufacturing and industry growth in Sweden has been carried out by ISA. It is now working with Swedish vehicle manufacturers, investors, universities, vehicle clusters and energy manufacturers to study a possible battery industry platform.

ISA looks for partnerships for local cell manufacturing, automation and machinery development, exploration of Swedish battery chemistry research, recycling of Li-ion batteries, battery management electronics and more.

"This is a huge possibility to develop a region towards zero emission and connect this to Sweden's target of achieving production of 100% green energy," says Lennart Haman, battery technology analyst and advisor to ISA.

Advanced Hybrid Vehicles
Volvo Cars is focusing heavily on advanced green technology as part of its 'DRIVe Towards Zero' vision. It has teamed up with Swedish energy giant Vattenfall to produce battery-powered Volvo cars featuring plug-in hybrid technology. The first test fleet models are already in use and the commercial launch is set for 2012. The plug-in hybrid vehicle has carbon dioxide emissions of less than 50g/km and is able to run more than 50km per charge.

"The environmental issue is at the very top of our product development agenda right now," says Stephen Odell, president and CEO of Volvo Cars. "Carbon dioxide emissions from our cars will be drastically reduced by the plan we are now implementing."

Volvo is also working on other electrification projects that will demand different types of batteries for advanced applications in future vehicles.

Large Investments
Volvo's commitment is part of a joint venture to develop next-generation plug-in hybrid vehicles. The major investment project sees Volvo, SAAB and Vattenfall join forces with the Swedish State and the Swedish Energy Agency to reduce fuel emissions.

"The Swedish government wants to see a massive rollout of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on European roads. Sweden has the right skills and experience to take lead of the development of plug-in hybrids. It is also extremely important to work towards a common standard for vehicle charging infrastructure across Europe," says Asa Torstensson, Minister for Communications at Sweden's Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications.

For further information contact Kjell Nilsson, Senior advisor, Automotive; Invest in Sweden Agency, North America, Cell phone: +1-734-904-0677, Email: kjell.nilsson@usa.isa.se