In early February, the news came that Volvo and Northvolt will build a hot new battery factory in Gothenburg.

It is expected to consume about as much electricity as the city of Uppsala.

But according to Göteborg Energi, it is far from the only electricity-consuming investment that will get rid of in the city.

Stena, the Ports of Gothenburg and the expansion of Volvo Lundby are three other businesses that will require large amounts of electricity.

And that can lead to problems.

Capacity ceiling reached in just three years

Göteborg Energi expects that these operations, together with general electricity consumption, will significantly increase electricity demand.

- We see a doubled energy need in just 15 years, says Lars Edström, CEO of Göteborg Energi Nät.

But the existing electricity grid is simply not equipped for the major electrification that Gothenburg is currently undergoing and expanding it will take a long time.

Electricity networks take a long time to expand

The bottleneck in the process is not the constructions themselves, but the actual permits to build them.

Today, it can take up to 10 years just to get a permit from the Energy Market Authority to lay new cables and wires.

There are many trips between authorities to enable the construction of new structures and pipelines.

- The long processing time is unreasonable, says Lars Edström.

On February 3, the government published a national strategy for electrification in the country.

As part of the investment, an attempt will be made to halve the permit processes for expanding electricity networks in the country.

Authorities are working together today to streamline the process and this is expected to be possible by 2025.

New investments may have to wait for electricity

Lars Edström says that it will be possible to supply all planned investments with the electricity needed.

However, he says that they are dependent on efficient permit processes already now, including for the new battery factory.

However, it is clear that new investments that are not yet planned will have to wait for electricity in the future unless expansion in and to Gothenburg takes place quickly.