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But after raising more than $15bn since its launch in 2017 — the most of any privately owned start-up in Europe — Northvolt is struggling to gain backing for its latest fundraising amid concerns about the outlook for electric vehicles and intensifying worries about the company’s own financial position.

Carmakers including Northvolt’s biggest shareholder Volkswagen and Volvo Cars have sounded the alarm about the slow pace of electric car sales. BMW, one of Northvolt’s earliest backers, cancelled a $2bn contract with Northvolt earlier this year in frustration at delayed deliveries.

Northvolt executives have argued that the company had enjoyed relatively little government support from Sweden, unlike the generous backing from Germany and Canada, with much of it coming in the form of loan guarantees. “It’s not like we’re dependent on a vast amount of subsidies from Sweden,” said one.