Finnish Minerals & Beijing Easpring to build CAM plant in Finland
The capacity of the new factory is planned to be 60,000 tonnes of active cathode material per year in the first stage of expansion when it will directly employ approximately 270 people. The plans also entail the possibility of expanding production in the future. The plant’s construction will start in the spring of 2025, and the goal is to launch commercial production in 2027.
In terms of funding, the Finnish Minerals Group writes that Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, which was established in 2024, will carry out the investment project. The company is 30 per cent owned by the Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring Material Technology owns 70%. Construction of the factory is estimated to cost about 800 million euros. The money will come from the owners, external loans and subsidies. As part of the project, the Finnish state will invest an additional 100 million euros in the Finnish Minerals Group.
Finnish permit authorities processed the plant’s environmental permit under the green transition priority procedure, which was then finalized in December 2024. Approximately 80 hectares have been reserved for the project in the Keltakallio industrial area in Kotka, and a lease for the 27.8 hectares needed for the first phase was signed in January 2025.
“Our partner, Beijing Easpring Material Technology, is one of the world’s leading companies developing and producing cathode active material, and we have been cooperating with them for several years. With the Kotka CAM plant, we are creating an entirely new kind of industry in Finland related to the production of lithium-ion batteries,” says Matti Hietanen, CEO of Finnish Minerals Group. “Even on a European scale, the plant is a spearhead project for the industry and an important step forward for the Finnish battery value chain and battery business.”
CAM material production is in high demand everywhere, however, China is leading the charge in production capacities. With Northvolts bankruptcy filing earlier this month in Sweden, things have not improved.
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