Construction now starts on a national test centre for the electric vehicles of the future – SEEL in Nykvarn. The facility will have a unique focus on heavy vehicles and will be an important part of developing the electrified transport of the future.
Today in Nykvarn, the first sod was turned for one of SEEL's facilities for the electromobility of the future, a test centre that will enter service in 2023. Here, researchers and companies will test and develop battery technology and powertrains for heavier vehicles, aircraft and boats.
SEEL, the Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory, is run by the state-owned RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and Chalmers. The initiative is based on cooperation between the state, academia and industry. The industrial partners are Cevt, Scania, Volvo Cars and the Volvo Group. In total, approx. SEK 1.3 billion is being invested in SEEL.
– The climate is the greatest challenge of our time. Electrifying the transport sector is crucial to reducing our emissions. This is why investing in the electromobility laboratory is important for the transition and for our future competitiveness, says Minister for Enterprise Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson.
SEEL gives players in the automotive industry, the aviation industry and the maritime sector, as well as other companies developing technology in relevant fields, a shared platform for meetings and cooperation. Together they can benefit from the growth in knowledge and the technology shift now under way. Like the facilities in Gothenburg and Borås, the facility in Nykvarn will also be an open platform where researchers from colleges, universities and research institutes have access to advanced testing capabilities in electromobility.
–The SEEL test centre will be very important in the automotive industry's transition. The goal is for SEEL to be world-leading in electromobility and to strengthen the competitiveness of the Swedish automotive industry. The facility in Nykvarn is central to this work, says Pia Sandvik, CEO of RISE.
Nykvarn was chosen because of the strategic location of the Stockholm Syd Mörby business area, 12 kilometres from Scania in Södertälje and 30 minutes from central Stockholm. Geographically, Nykvarn is also part of the so-called Fordonsdalen (“Vehicle Valley”), the part of Stockholm County and the counties of East Central Sweden that, from a global perspective, hosts important research and manufacturing focused mainly on heavy vehicles.
In total, approx. 20 percent of the world's powertrains for heavy vehicles are produced in the area, and it is home to nearly a third of all people employed in the Swedish automotive industry. For Scania, the facility in Nykvarn will be an important complement to its own investments in a battery assembly plant and a battery laboratory.
– This is a big event for a small town. We are extremely proud and happy to contribute to one of the most important issues of our time: the development of the electrified vehicles and transport of the future. We hope that Nykvarn will become a place where even more players can come together to drive the development of electromobility forward, says Gunilla Lindstedt (NP), Chair of the Municipal Executive Board in Nykvarn.
The test centre in Nykvarn will comprise a technically advanced building of approx. 3,700 sq m, adapted for research and development of electrified powertrains and vehicle batteries for heavy vehicles.
– The facility is in line with Kilenkrysset's commitment to developing advanced properties that contribute to community development. The location here in the Mälardalen region is very good. There is great potential here – close to both a workforce and research, says Jan Persson, CEO of Kilenkrysset.
Participants in today's ground-breaking ceremony included Minister for Enterprise Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson; Sven-Erik Österberg, Governor of Stockholm County; Pia Sandvik, CEO of RISE; Rémy Kolessar, Head of the Research, Innovation and Business Development Department at the Swedish Energy Agency; Magnus Mackaldener, Senior Vice President/Head of Electrification Development, Scania Group; Jan Persson, CEO of Kilenkrysset; and Gunilla Lindstedt, Chair of the Municipal Executive Board of Nykvarn Municipality.
For more information, please contact:
Ann-Charlotte Moberger, acting business development officer and project manager for the ground-breaking ceremony, Nykvarn Municipality
Email: ann-charlotte.moberger@nykvarn.se
Phone: 08-555 010 89
David Schubert, Head of Business Development, Nykvarn Municipality
Email: david.schubert@nykvarn.se
Phone: 08-555 010 27
Gunilla Lindstedt, Chair of the Municipal Executive Board, Nykvarn Municipality
Email: gunilla.lindstedt@nykvarn.se
Phone: 08-555 010 06
Henrik Svenningstorp, CEO of SEEL
Email: henrik.svenningstorp@ri.se
Phone: 073-840 59 14
Jan Persson, CEO of Kilenkrysset
Email: jan.persson@kilenkrysset.se
Phone: 070-766 54 04
