Europe’s ambitions to lead the world in green technologies risk fizzling out in the face of China’s dominance. The outlook is especially bleak when it comes to electric vehicle batteries, an important driver of the low-carbon economy.

F EW European startups have attracted as much attention—and none as much capital—as Northvolt. On November 21st the Swedish maker of batteries for electric vehicles ( EV s), and a would-be European champion, went bankrupt, having raised $15bn from governments and investors. Its boss, Peter Carlsson, resigned shortly after.

Northvolt's financial collapse deals a blow to Europe's plan to set up its own battery industry to power electric cars, stirring a debate about whether it needs to do more to attract investment as startups struggle to catch up with Chinese rivals.