Electrification requires more than new technology. When experts from Volvo Group, Vattenfall and Chalmers University of Technology met during Almedalen Week, one message stood out: no single organisation can drive the transition alone.
Europe's future competitiveness will depend on how effectively research, industry and the energy sector transform knowledge into real-world solutions.
On a small courtyard tucked away in Kronstallgränd, in the middle of the bustling Almedalen Week, the discussion centred on one of the defining questions for Europe's future: how can Europe remain a leading industrial region when it lacks the fossil resources that underpin many of today's global economies?
The answer, according to the panel, is electrification. But just as important is ensuring that research and industry work more closely together to identify the solutions that will be needed in the years ahead.
"If we cannot make the industrial transition work in Sweden, I'm not sure where it can be done," said Mikael Nordlander, Head of Industrial Partnerships at Vattenfall.
"We have the energy, we have the raw materials and we have the knowledge."
According to Nordlander, Sweden has unusually strong conditions for success thanks to its combination of fossil-free electricity, a globally competitive industrial base and world-class research.
"We're not going to compete with China on cost. If we can't compete on volume, we have to compete on expertise."
Charging Isn't the Biggest Challenge
The electrification of heavy-duty transport is often described as one of the greatest obstacles to the transition. But Anders Berger, Director of Public Affairs at Volvo Group, argued that the debate frequently focuses on the wrong questions.
"Heavy trucks are not allowed to drive for more than four and a half hours before drivers must take a mandatory break. They also remain parked for long periods every day."
The real challenge, he argued, is therefore not whether there is enough time to charge, but whether charging infrastructure is available where trucks are already standing still.
This is where collaboration between research and industry becomes highly tangible.
Volvo Group knows where trucks stop, how long they remain parked and how freight moves across Europe. Chalmers researchers use system models to explore how charging infrastructure and electricity grids can be designed around those real-world patterns.
One of the key questions is how rapidly growing electricity demand from road transport can be integrated into future energy systems.
Maria Taljegård, a researcher in sustainable energy and transport systems at Chalmers, emphasised the importance of taking a whole-system perspective.
Rather than seeing electric vehicles simply as consumers of electricity, they should increasingly be seen as assets that can support the power system.
Smart charging allows vehicles to be charged when electricity demand is low or renewable generation is abundant. In the future, vehicle-to-grid technologies could also enable electric vehicles to feed electricity back into the grid, making both transport and power systems more flexible and efficient.
Research is therefore not only about determining how many charging stations are needed. It is about understanding how transport systems, electricity grids and energy storage can work together as an integrated system.
When Research Sees Beyond the Present
Tomas Kåberger illustrated the value of long-term research with a story from Volvo Group.
Years ago, the company's former Head of Research and Development, Edward Jobson, read a Chalmers study on battery-electric city buses. At the time, the report concluded that the technology was not yet commercially competitive. But the researchers had also identified the conditions that would need to change for electric buses to become a viable alternative.
When Jobson returned to the report some years later, those conditions had changed. Battery costs had fallen, the technology had matured and the market looked very different. A report that had once described a distant future had quietly become a blueprint for reality.
The story illustrates an important role of research: not only to explain the present, but also to help industry recognise when the impossible has become possible.
The Technology Exists—Now the Systems Must Work
For Mikael Nordlander, the biggest challenge is no longer technological.
"The technology is not our greatest risk. We have a fairly good understanding of that. The real challenge is how to build a business around an entirely new value chain."
In his view, the next phase of the transition will depend as much on investments, market conditions and regulation as on technological innovation.
While the pace of electrification has slowed in Sweden, Volvo Group is seeing encouraging developments elsewhere in Europe.
According to Anders Berger, Sweden was making strong progress until the autumn of 2023, when changing market conditions slowed momentum.
"In the Netherlands, we're seeing the market begin to take off. They have a combination of policy instruments, including different taxation of fossil fuels and CO₂-differentiated road charges. With the right mix of policies, the market eventually gains momentum on its own."
The challenge, Berger argued, is no longer whether the technology works. It is about creating market conditions that make electric transport commercially competitive. In this respect, Sweden has lost some momentum, while countries such as the Netherlands have moved further ahead.
China was also highlighted as an example of how long-term government support for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure has helped create a market that could later grow on commercial terms.
"At some point, you have to create demand to get over the hump," Nordlander said.
The Electricity Grid Is the Next Bottleneck
Electrifying transport is also about making better use of the electricity grid.
"We need the grid operators to be part of this," Berger said. "Heavy trucks will often charge when electricity demand is at its lowest. The regulations and business models need to reflect that."
Most heavy-duty trucks remain parked overnight, when there is often spare capacity in the electricity grid. However, today's grid connection models and network tariffs are not always designed to take advantage of those patterns.
Research points to several opportunities to improve the utilisation of existing grid capacity through battery storage, smart charging strategies and more flexible electricity management.
Rather than expanding the grid everywhere, future solutions may increasingly rely on making better use of the infrastructure that already exists.
Knowledge Grows Through Collaboration
One theme returned throughout the discussion: the transition requires more than technological innovation. It also requires new ways of working together.
For both Volvo Group and Vattenfall, collaboration is not primarily about reading more scientific papers. Equally important is the opportunity to meet researchers, discuss emerging challenges and explore ideas long before solutions are ready for deployment.
Industrial PhD students, interdisciplinary research centres and long-term research partnerships were highlighted as important arenas where industrial experience can meet the long-term perspective of academic research. At Chalmers, such collaborative environments exist in areas including energy, materials science and transport.
Maria Taljegård pointed to industrial PhD programmes as an effective way of building bridges between academia and industry, allowing knowledge, experience and perspectives to flow in both directions.
Close collaboration also requires clearly defined roles. Companies investing in research naturally want results that can be put into practice. At the same time, the panel agreed that the value of academic research depends on its independence—its ability to question assumptions, test new ideas and sometimes reach unexpected conclusions.
"So how obedient should research be? Just obedient enough", said Mikael Nordlander.
His point was clear. The role of research is not to tell industry what to do. It is to identify opportunities, analyse consequences and provide a sound basis for decision-making.
Throughout the discussion, one conclusion kept returning.
Europe's long-term competitiveness will not be decided by access to fossil resources. It will be determined by its ability to generate new knowledge, translate research into innovation and build strong partnerships between academia and industry.
"It is knowledge that gives us our competitive edge."
