Georgia isn’t known for its ties to Norway, but the $2.6 billion investment Freyr Battery is rolling out here is causing its home country look more deeply into factors drawing companies to the state.
Norwegian Consul General Heidi Olufsen came into her New York posting in August 2021 and was handed a portfolio of 22 states including Georgia.
Soon after, three more states were added, putting Norway’s consular and economic outreach for half of the U.S. under her purview.
If she needed a reason to prioritize the South, it came with Freyr’s announcement in November 2022 that it would make batteries and energy-storage systems in Newnan, hiring 723 people in the initial $1.7 billion buildup of its “Giga America” facility. The 400-acre site was chosen after Freyr evaluated 135 sites and shortlisted 35. It came after SK On began production at its EV battery plant in Georgia, and following announcements that the state had wooed electric-vehicle factories from Rivian and Hyundai Motor Group.
“We have kind of been following Georgia for awhile, hearing about the quite-business-friendly climate,” Ms. Olufsen told Global Atlanta during an interview at the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
Already, Georgia was home to Norsk Hydro, which operates an aluminum extrusion plant in Gainesville that employs more than 400 and is set to expand again soon as demand for the metal grows, especially in solar panels and cars. The company employs 7,000 across the U.S. and will soon build a new smelter in Michigan.
The consul general felt she needed first hand knowledge of the state so she could more accurately portray its opportunities to Norwegian firms looking to take advantage of the expected boom in the generation, storage and distribution of renewable power across the U.S.
Her April 19-20 visit was orchestrated by Tom Rosseland, who represents Norway (as well as Sweden) as honorary consul in Georgia.
The short trip included meetings with Norwegian investors at the chamber and a sit-down with city officials, and she came away even more convinced at the possibilities for trade and investment to grow as Georgia and Norway move along their respective clean-energy paths.
“I think Norway and Georgia in many ways can support and complement each other. Our strength and focus is very much in within the green transition — energy and renewable energy, but also within batteries, more and more electric mobility, both transport and ferries and boats, as well as smart buildings,” she said. “And I see how Georgia is also kind of really becoming not only the corporate hub of the South, but also more on the green transition track with the batteries and the (electric vehicles).”
Norway, with its small population oil and gas wealth and abundant hydropower, far outpaces the U.S. when it comes to the adoption of electric vehicles. Last year, about 80 percent of cars sold in Norway were electrified, contrasting with about 6 percent in the U.S.
That wasn’t by accident, and Ms. Olufsen believes there’s room for fruitful discussion on both sides about regulations that helped drive adoption.
“I’m very optimistic on behalf of Georgia because what of I saw in Norway,” she said, noting that even five years ago, she wouldn’t have expected to see such strong uptake on EVs.
Cheap, clean hydroelectricity, abundant chargers, tax policies that penalize gas-powered vehicles and perks for EVs like driving in bus lanes have incentivized buyers to take the electric leap.
With the U.S. embarking on its own massive incentive program through the Inflation Reduction Act, Norway finds itself with mixed feelings, she said.
“We think it’s really great that they adopted that big climate package because the U.S. is such an important country. It really will make a difference, so that’s very positive. But then on the other hand, of course, there are concerns on how that will affect trade barriers,” she said.
Norway is not a member of the EU, which has complained that the incentives put European-made cars at a disadvantage, but it is a member of the European Economic Area, which gives it access to the EU market.
While Norway doesn’t have a homegrown car producer, it does have large deposits of minerals needed for battery production, as well as the clean power needed to process them without aggravating the climate crisis.
The $7,500 purchase incentive in the IRA only applies to vehicles assembled in the U.S. with batteries that have at least half their components made domestically and 40 percent of critical battery minerals mined or processed in the U.S. or trade-agreement countries. Japan just launched a mineral agreement with the United States; Norway doesn’t yet have one, though Ms. Olufsen said her government remains engaged in discussions with Washington on the IRA’s effects.
In March, U.S. Ambassador to Norway Marc Nathanson wrote an op-ed extolling the virtues of the IRA for Norway, noting that it would help technologies scale and bring down the cost of the new technologies like hydrogen where Norway is showing global leadership. Both Freyr and Hydro were cited as exemplars of U.S.-Norway collaboration. Equinor, a wind-energy company with major investments in the U.S., also stands to benefit, Mr. Nathanson said.
Hearing from the companies themselves about the advantages of Georgia has been instructive, Ms. Olufsen said, given that few Norwegians know of the state.
“I think this is really exciting. I would really like to be one of those talking about my impressions from here and the facts actually on the ground,” she said.
The consul general was also intrigued by the civil-rights history of Atlanta, given how it dovetails with the Norwegian government’s foreign-policy aim of promoting human rights around the world. Her visit included stops at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and The Carter Center, whose work on global health and democracy the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation has supported.
The consul general plans to return to Atlanta soon.
Very special & rewarding to visit the @CarterCenter in @CityofAtlanta. Glad to hear ab the great coop between @NorwayMFA @noradno and the Carter Centre on global #health & #peace over so many years. pic.twitter.com/NRHuMFSpKC
— Consul General Heidi Olufsen (@NorwayNYC) April 20, 2023
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