Norwegian startup Blastr Green Steel is planning to establish a green steel plant with an integrated hydrogen production facility in Inkoo, Finland. Blastr has entered into a Letter of Intent with Nordic energy company Fortum that provides Blastr exclusive rights to utilize the existing industrial site located in Joddböle, Inkoo in Finland, 55 km west of Helsinki.

Fortum has developed the Joddböle area since the dismantling of its Inkoo coal-fired power plant there in 2017-2020. (The controlled implosion of the last chimney at the plant was on 24 March 2020.) The area has excellent conditions for industrial activities: a deep-water harbor and an excellent electricity transmission network.

The €4-billion investment is expected to create up to 1,200 direct jobs in the operations phase. The production is planned to start by end of 2026. Blastr’s project—the green steel plant together with the integrated hydrogen facility—will be among the largest industrial investments in Finland.

Green steel will be a critical raw material for developing renewable energy infrastructure, such as wind turbines, as well as in segments such as construction, the automotive industry, and consumer goods. In Europe alone, the demand for decarbonized steel is expected to reach 50 million tons by 2030—nearly one-third of the current European steel demand.

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. Inkoo was selected as our location due to its high-quality infrastructure and access to clean power. In addition, the ice-free deep-sea harbor enables efficient, low-carbon logistics all year round and close access to the European market.

—Hans Fredrik Wittusen, CEO of Blastr Green Steel

The steel industry produces about eight percent of the world’s CO₂ emissions due to the high amount of fossil fuels used to manufacture steel through conventional methods. Currently, one ton of steel produced creates about 1.9 tonnes of CO₂. Blastr will replace coke and coal with hydrogen in the chemical reduction phase, as well as reduce the CO₂ footprint along the entire value chain, with the aim of achieving 95% lower CO₂ emissions, compared to the conventional manufacturing process.

The steel plant is planned to produce 2.5 million tons of high-quality hot and cold-rolled green steel annually.

With the green steel produced in Inkoo, we aim to reduce carbon emissions by 4.6 million tons of CO₂ per year compared to conventional methods, corresponding to the amount of emissions created by all passenger cars in Finland annually. We will systematically address all parts of the value chain to reduce overall carbon footprint, reduce waste and develop circular solutions. Furthermore, our ambition is to secure a significant share of our power needs from directly or indirectly owned wind parks, contributing through own investments and partnerships to advance clean energy production in Finland. We believe that our project will provide positive benefits for the region, and we will engage in an active dialogue and cooperation with the local community and other stakeholders.

—Hans Fredrik Wittusen

In October 2022, Cargill’s metals business and Blastr agreed to work together to supply steel made without use of fossil fuels in the Nordic region.

Blastr was founded and is backed by Vanir Green Industries (VGI), a Nordic investment company that invests in, develops and scales businesses needed to accelerate the energy transition. VGI was established by Tore Ivar Slettemoen, one of the founders of Freyr Batteries.

Inkoo power plant. Fortum’s 1,000-megawatt Inkoo power plant was commissioned during 1974–1978. Back then, it was the biggest coal-fired power plant in the Nordic countries. For comparison, the production capacity of the Inkoo coal-fired power plant equalled the combined capacity of the Loviisa nuclear power plant’s units 1 and 2.

The now-demolished Inkoo coal plant. Edge of coal stockpile area visible at bottom.

Throughout the 2000s, the power plant produced electricity for the Nordic electricity markets, mainly only during peak consumption. In 2011–2013, the power plant’s number 3 unit was in the Energy Authority’s national peak-load reserve capacity system, but was subsequently no longer selected for the reserve capacity system.

The demolition of Inkoo’s large coal-fired power plant is an outstanding example of material recycling. More than 90% of all the demolition material was destined for recycling. The technological equipment has been recycled to Fortum’s own power plants or sold as spare parts to other power producers. The metal from Inkoo has been transported to various places in Finland for reuse. In spring 2018, a load of scrap metal was transported by ship from Inkoo to Turkey, where it was melted down and reused in the construction industry.

The concrete generated during the demolition work has been pulverised and cleaned. It will mainly be used to level the land in the power plant area and as filler material for the old ash basins.

Fortum’s aim was also to “recycle” the old power plant area.