Renewables

Green steel plant in Finland set to start production in 2026

Green steel plant in Finland set to start production in 2026

Photo: Yasin hm on Unsplash

Published

January 6, 2023

Country

Comments

2 Comments

Share

Published:

January 6, 2023

Country:

Comments:

2 Comments

Share

A new company from Norway is planning one of the largest investments in industrial production in Finland so far. Blastr Green Steel said it would build a steelworks and a hydrogen plant in Inkoo, Finland, that would run on renewable electricity.

Steel production is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize. Big players are rushing to implement the latest technologies to avoid rising carbon emission costs and meet the needs of customers that aim to become carbon neutral. According to a recent study, switching a steel factory to hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron ore and electric arc furnaces using only solar power costs up to EUR 7 billion.

Blastr Green Steel, based in Norway, is starting from scratch. The company, founded in 2021 by investment firm Vanir Green Industries (VGI), plans to establish a green steel plant with an integrated hydrogen production facility in Joddböle, Inkoo, in south Finland. It signed a letter of intent with Fortum on exclusive rights to utilize a site where a few years ago the Finnish company dismantled its coal power plant, once the largest in the Nordic region.

Blastr: Finland is ideal for low-carbon steel project

The investment is valued at EUR 4 billion, which would make it one of the biggest in industrial production in the country so far. Blastr claims the plant would have up to 1,200 regular employees. The start of operations is scheduled for 2026.

“Finland is an ideal location for our project. It has an ambitious low-carbon target, supportive and predictable operating conditions for the green industry, fossil-free energy, and a highly qualified workforce,” Blastr’s Chief Executive Officer Hans Fredrik Wittusen said.

CO2 emissions to be 95% lower than in conventional production

Blastr pointed out it would use hydrogen instead of coke and coal and reduce the carbon dioxide footprint along the entire value chain, with the aim of achieving 95 percent lower CO₂ emissions. The steel plant is planned to produce 2.5 million tons of high-quality hot- and cold-rolled green steel per year.

“Finland is an excellent place for carbon-neutral industry and production of decarbonized steel: We have a strong and reliable electricity grid, good conditions for producing emission-free energy and efficient logistics,” Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä stated.

The startup revealed it would raise debt and funds for the project in the capital market, Carbon Herald reported. CEO Wittusen said Finland was chosen partly because of the strong wind power supply.

Comments (2)
Muhammad Ishaq / October 17, 2023

It will be the largest and printable and useful plant in Finland as the new technology is growing day by day. It will fulfill the demand of steel sectors I would like to work in such plant as I have a lot of experience in same plant in Saudi Arabia more than 26 Years experience

Nts / December 15, 2023

That company mostly produces lies, they just changed the date more to 2030, they market themselves as green and omit most of the other emissions in their marketing materials.

The only green thing about this is the electricity, all else is more or less a conventional steel plant. Emissions that are planned correspond very much to SSAB in Brahestad.

If this is the answer to combat climate change then good night.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Croatian Chamber of Economy lex specialis for renewables position paper

Croatian Chamber of Economy asks for lex specialis for renewable energy sector

28 March 2024 - The Association for Renewable Energy Sources produced a position paper identifying obstacles and possible solutions

romania delgaz hydrogen 20HyGrid

Romania successfully tests blending hydrogen in natural gas distribution grid, households

28 March 2024 - E.ON Romania declared success in its test of blending hydrogen into the gas network and using the mixture in households.

IRENA-Global-solar-power-capacity-surpasses-hydropower-in-2023

IRENA: Global solar power capacity surpasses hydropower in 2023

28 March 2024 - The world's renewable electricity capacity additions in 2023 hit a record 473 GW, dominated by China. Solar power became the largest segment in total.

aleksander mervar eles krsko solar slovenija

Mervar: Electricity from Krško 2 nuclear project won’t be cheaper then EUR 125 per MWh

27 March 2024 - CEO of Slovenia's TSO ELES Aleksander Mervar said gas power plants need to be built to prevent the need for large electricity imports