Kiel (dpa-AfX)-Next stage in the investigation of the millions of millions for the now insolvent battery manufacturer Northvolt: The FDP has involved the state constitutional court. The opposition accuses the black and green coalition of violating its information and teaching obligations to the state parliament before its approval.
The parliamentary group wants to significantly tighten its gait when it comes to enlightenment, said former Economics Minister Bernd Buchholz (FDP). “In the past few weeks, we have to find that the state government, but also on the part of the parliamentary group of the CDU and the Greens, but also by the CDU general secretary, is increasingly being tried to banish the whole topic in a form and to trally tackle that you should even be drawn to ridiculous.”
Specifically, it is about the information from the state government to the finance committee of the state parliament before the crucial meeting in January 2024. At that time, the MPs unanimously cleared the way for a convertible bond from the state support bank KfW for the planned factory construction of Northvolt near Heide in the amount of around 600 million euros. Half of the federal and state governments for the convertible bond. In addition, there were 20 million euros for interest and procedural costs.
Missing information?
Government representatives repeatedly expressed that they had carefully worked and provided the parliament all information about the guarantee, said Buchholz. “Both are not correct.” This has now been published and previously blackened passages of a cabinet template from December 2023.
It says literally: “The overall financing of the settlement project at the Heide location is not secured. For the current funding gap, external financing is planned, with certain doubts exist that a banking consortium is found, provided that Northvolt still behaves very restrictively with regard to the provision of figures on the economic conditions and the project.” For Buchholz, the files show in several places that Northvolt apparently did not submit documents.
Buchholz emphasized that “the MPs had to make a decision over 300 million euros in tax money, in ignorance that the data basis with regard to the economic evaluation of Northvolt was extremely thin and that neither the overall financing of the project could be secured, nor could the company’s ability to assist the company”. With today’s knowledge, the vote in January 2024 would most likely have been different.
The Federal Audit Office has already determined that the Federal Ministry of Economics had insufficiently determined and evaluated essential risks of the convertible bond, said Buchholz. “Instead, it acted largely on the principle of hope. This statement on the Federal Ministry of Economics also applies 100 percent to the Schleswig-Holstein state government.”
Information “caught”?
Buchholz said that the Landtag’s Finance Committee had no knowledge of this before its approval for state funding. The reason for this is probably in the area “between active deception and caught”. The head of the State Chancellery, Dirk Schrödter (CDU), is responsible for the information of the state parliament.
In addition, the government also violates the country’s citizens’ directive in the opinion of the former minister. This administrative regulation states, among other things, that the total financing of a project must be secured, taking appropriate own funds into account. Northvolt, with four to six billion euros, has only been tackled with a equity of 60 million euros in addition to the funding and loans, said Buchholz. “The public sector should occur for 95 percent of the risk. This has nothing to do with the market economy.”
The liberal emphasized that in every company, personal consequences would be inevitable after a loss of 300 million euros. Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) had declared that he was responsible for the case. However, mistakes were not made. If the head of government continues to explain that he would do everything again as it was then, he would request his resignation.
Government promises transparency
The State Chancellery noted the FDP’s announcement. “In any legal proceedings, as in the past few weeks and months, we will continue to be available with full transparency for all questions – even if everything is long on the table to get a comprehensive picture,” said a government spokeswoman. “According to the report, the probability of repayment was 86 percent and the probability of default was 1 percent, but will not change when the Constitutional Court is appealed.”
According to the SPD, the state government has given sufficient reason to check its handling of parliament under constitutional law. “We will advise the brief of the organ dispute process promptly and decide whether we will join the procedure,” said SPD economist Kianusch Stender.
Insolvency of the company
When construction in Schleswig-Holstein began in March 2024, hopes in the structurally weak region were high. At a record pace, the leaf turned, Northvolt ranks with ever higher debts, had to dismiss thousands of workers in Sweden, put expansion plans on hold and temporarily under creditor protection in the USA.
Finally, Northvolt reported bankruptcy in Sweden on March 12, 2025. It remains unclear how the factory near Heide is going on and how expensive the bankruptcy for Germany and Schleswig-Holstein will end up ./acl/dp/jha