The Norwegian company Blastr Green Steel is planning a billion-euro ($4.3 billion) investment to build a low-carbon steel plant in Finland, which could be one of the largest industrial projects in the Nordics.
According to Business Finland’s announcement on Tuesday, Blastr has signed a letter of intent for Fortum Oyj’s planned location, the Inkoo industrial area on the country’s south coast. The plant includes integrated hydrogen production and will employ up to 1,200 workers when operational.
The steel industry is one of the world’s most polluting industries, with huge blast furnaces that heat iron ore with coking coal.
A cleaner way is to use hydrogen produced by renewable energy. Several companies, including SSAB AB of Sweden and Outokumpu Oyj of Finland, are investigating green steel technologies, although they are not yet produced on an industrial scale.
The Blastr plant will produce 2.5 million tons of hot and cold-rolled green steel per year, starting in 2026. The company chose Finland as its factory in part because of the country’s abundance of wind energy, says CEO Hans Fredrik Wittusen. Although Blastr has not yet received financing for the project, it plans to borrow money and raise funds from the capital market, the CEO told Helsingin Sanomat.
According to the magazine, the final investment decision will be made at the beginning of 2025. Behind Blastr is Vanir Green Industries, founded by Tore Ivar Slettemoen, who is also one of the founders of Freyr Battery AS. The company’s goal is to produce green battery cells to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in energy and transportation systems.
