Former finance minister defends AP funds’ Northvolt investment as their responsibility

The collapse of battery manufacturer Northvolt does not justify banning Sweden’s national pension funds (AP funds) from unlisted investments, former Financial Markets Minister Per Bolund (Green Party) told a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Bolund testified before the Constitutional Committee, which is examining the government’s role in the AP funds’ 6 billion SEK investment in Northvolt—a sum later lost when the company filed for bankruptcy. Several committee members questioned whether the former centre-left government, or Bolund himself, had pressured the state-owned pension funds to back the green battery factory in Skellefteå.

Bolund rejected the suggestion, stating it would be “completely foreign” to him to discuss individual investments with the funds. “It is their responsibility to choose both which investments to make and how to make them,” he said.

Shell company structure criticised

Last year, public broadcaster SVT revealed that the AP funds channeled their Northvolt investment through a newly formed, employee-free venture capital firm—a setup that drew sharp criticism. An official review later concluded the firm lacked the resources and expertise required for high-risk, unlisted investments, and that concentrating all funds in a single company was ill-advised.

The legal framework enabling this structure was amended under Bolund’s tenure, expanding the AP funds’ ability to pursue off-market deals like Northvolt. While the changes also emphasized sustainable development alongside high returns, Bolund placed full responsibility for the venture capital approach on the funds themselves.

“In this case, they chose an investment form that proved flawed,” Bolund said. “That’s a lesson they must learn.”

The Constitutional Committee’s review covers both the current and previous governments’ oversight of the AP funds’ investment decisions.