Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, a joint venture recently established by Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. (earlier post), has submitted an environmental permit application concerning a cathode active material (CAM) plant to be established in Kotka to the Regional State Administrative Agency. The applicant has requested that the environmental permit application be processed under the priority procedure concerning green transition projects.

At this stage of project development, the plant is estimated to produce on average 60,000 tonnes of nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode material per year. The plant will be on a 27.8-hectare industrial site in the Keltakallio industrial area, approximately eight kilometers from the center of Kotka. The local plan and modified local plan for the Keltakallio industrial area came into effect in 2021.

An area covering a total of 80 hectares has been reserved for the project for a possible plant expansion in the future.

The largest environmental impacts of the CAM plant consist of impacts on the community structure, land use and traffic in the area.

The plant process will not cause any direct wastewater discharge into water systems. Process effluents will be purified at the plant’s own purification plant, after which they will be channelled to the wastewater treatment plant of Kymen Vesi Oy.

The raw materials and end products will be stored indoors under controlled conditions. In addition, the goal is to utilize the extra heat energy generated by the production plant in the district heating network of the City of Kotka.

The production plant will not be situated in a groundwater area or a flood risk area. However, the project has paid special attention to runoff water during the construction and operational phase of the plant. For example, the area is planned to include runoff water basins.

During the development of the project and the operation of the plant, the focus is on low-carbon solutions, energy efficiency and environmental protection. Modern, intelligent technology, process and equipment solutions are used in the design of the plant and production facilities.

CAM production is part of the battery value chain. The CAM plant is planned to produce the cathode active material needed in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. CAM is used in cell plants, which require products whose demand is growing as the electrification of transport advances in Europe, for example.

CAM is the key material in determining, among others, the performance, lifespan and safety of batteries. In Finland, CAM production is an entirely new sector with no prior environmental permits. As far as is known, there are no other ongoing CAM projects based on nickel-based lithium-ion battery chemistry in Finland.

According to a previously conducted regional economy assessment, the Kotka CAM plant’s operations would generate approximately €200 million in new GDP and about €90 million in new tax revenue for Finland each year. Its direct employment effect would be approximately 300 person-years, and it would have significant economic and employment effects during the construction phase.

Next, the permit authority will review the permit application and publish a public notice on the issue. This will lead to a hearing phase, during which various authorities will provide statements on the matter and interested parties may voice their opinions on the application.

New joint venture to lead the plant project. From now on, the plant project will be advanced by Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, a joint venture of Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. The joint venture’s ownership interest is divided into 70% held by listed company Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. and 30% held by Finnish Minerals Group.