Finland boosts its position in the battery cluster market – Kotka plant to get an international partner
The battery material plant planned in Kotka will take a major step forward as Finnish Minerals Group receives a Chinese partner, Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. The parties will continue to collaborate to implement the plan.
“The battery material factory is very welcome to our city and Finland. Kotka can offer a competitive operating environment for the planned sustainable development project, and the City of Kotka is extremely committed to supporting the project, with heavy input from the city and the service consortium,” says Mayor of Kotka Esa Sirviö.
The battery industry and the electrification of society that it enables play a key role in achieving the EU’s climate goals. This news, published today, will give a major boost to Finland and the Kotka-Hamina region in particular within the international battery cluster market, and proves that Finland’s battery strategy and the work done by Finnish Minerals Group and Business Finland is bearing fruit. In winter 2021, it was announced that Hamina’s battery material plant project’s international partner is Chinese technology company CNGR Advanced Material Co., Ltd, and the Hamina project is also proceeding according to plan.
“The projects in Kotka and Hamina provide excellent support for the goals of Finland’s battery strategy and show that Finland has good opportunities to develop all the different parts of the battery production value chain on a broad front,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.
The battery material plant projects in the Kotka-Hamina region are the largest in Finland, and once running they will initially create a total of 400 jobs. However, the initial and direct impact on the region’s economy will be in the form of construction, accompanied by the multiple effect of production and consumption within many industries.
Kotka-Hamina region’s battery cluster developed with Power Coast concept
The Kotka-Hamina region is playing an active part in supporting Finland’s battery strategy and developing its own Power Coast concept. The goal is to convince international players of the region’s high competitiveness and thereby attract new battery cluster investments to Finland.
“There has been more and more interest in large industrial plots,” says David Lindström, CEO of Kotka-Hamina regional development company Cursor Oy. The region is known for its strong industrial expertise, and it is preparing the necessary areas and infrastructure to enable a competitive and sustainable battery industry to become rooted and to expand in the region.
The Kotka-Hamina region is also investing in expertise to accommodate the creation of the battery cluster. Courses at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK) and South Kymenlaakso Vocational College Ekami are comprehensively meeting the educational needs of companies in the battery industry, with Pertti Kauranen, who is Energy Storage Professor at Lappeenranta–Lahti University of Technology (LUT), giving his considerable input. LUT also operates in Kotka.
Finnish Minerals Group news on the same topic
Additional information:
Esa Sirviö, Mayor, City of Kotka
Tel. +358 40 097 5211
Markku Hannonen, Director of Urban Planning, City of Kotka
Tel. +358 40 076 0284
David Lindström, CEO, Kotka-Hamina regional development company Cursor Oy
Tel. +358 40 190 2501