Fortum logoFortum logoFortum Fortum, as the energy partner, will support a feasibility study to explore low-carbon aluminium manufacturing opportunities in Kokkola and Kronoby, Finland. With decades of expertise in the Nordic energy market, Fortum’s role in the study is to support in long-term hedging strategies related to a potential facility and electricity sourcing from Fortum’s existing and new generation assets. If realised, the aluminium manufacturing facility would mark the first greenfield primary aluminium development in continental Europe in over 30 years, significantly boosting the supply of domestic low-carbon aluminium in Europe. The facility, if realized, would consume approximately 7 TWh of electricity annually. The feasibility study will be conducted by the Arctial project company and its global industry leader partners Rio Tinto, Vargas, Mitsubishi Corporation, Fortum and Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi). The feasibility study will assess the low-carbon aluminium manufacturing opportunity across social, technical, environmental, and commercial dimensions. “Finland’s existing almost fully CO2-free power generation mix and strong pipeline of new wind and solar projects are key to the decarbonisation of various industrial sectors. We are pleased to be able to support the Arctial project company with our Nordic power market expertise and by providing our insights to their feasibility study,” says Executive Vice President Simon-Erik Ollus at Fortum. Fortum's strategic priorities are to deliver reliable, clean energy and drive decarbonisation in industries in the Nordics. Fortum´s power generation portfolio offers an optimal clean energy mix and it is working together with industrial partners to find solutions to reduce their carbon footprint. “We have a strong hypothesis centred around low-carbon aluminium produced in Europe, for Europe. The first step is to conduct a detailed feasibility study, and we look forward assessing the opportunity together with the municipalities of Kokkola and Kronoby, Finnish authorities, and our leading partners,” says Torbjörn Sternsjö, CEO of project company Arctial. The project organisation anticipates making a final investment decision regarding a production facility during 2026-2027. This decision will follow a comprehensive evaluation process, with the feasibility study serving as a crucial initial step. Fortum News Desk, newsdesk [at] fortum.com, +358 40 198 2843 © Fortum 2025 The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article activities on preceding journals at which the article was previously under consideration are not shown (for instance submission Science of the Total EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :For the purposes of this study the control area data as well as the pre-treatment calibration period data from the treatment catchments were utilized in order to eliminate the impact of recent forest operations on water quality the post-treatment data from the treatment catchments were rejected (see also Sarkkola et al. The drained data include the four catchments studied by Åström et al (2009) and one catchment studied by Sarkkola et al the six catchments studied by Mäkilä et al as well as the control area data and pre-restoration data from the six catchments studied by Koskinen et al unpublished data from 10 catchments with differing proportion of drained peatlands are included in the study All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. Elaine Bunting reports from the ice-bound coast of Finland where Nautor’s Swan build their famous range of luxurious Swan yachts Nautor’s facilities would be the envy of most yards around the world The work starts in a series of five huge halls outside the town of Kållby where the plugs are carved out by a robot milling machine moulds are made and hulls laminated and cured The hulls of the pure cruising Swan 53 and 66 are still hand laid-up rather than vacuum-infused but Swans of 66ft and above are in foam-cored carbon or in some cases with a skin of carbon on the inside and another of glass on the outside – heavier The attention to weightsaving here is extremely impressive Every bulkhead is made with holes for wiring and plumbing conduits built in rather then being cut out later and each is weighed before being taken into the hull and bonded in This verifies that the material quantity is correct and allows teams to become more consistent in laminating The first glassfibre yacht ever built by Nautor is being restored in the yard at Pietarsaari The build material used in the carbon hulls is a mixture of pre-preg carbon and Sprint The woven carbon of Sprint fabric sandwiches a toughened so pre-preg is used on honeycomb-cored bulkheads and for components that require fine At one end of the laminating shed is a room Nautor calls ‘the lab’ where new materials and components are tested A sign on the wall declares in Latin ‘non progredi est regredi’ – not to go forward is to go backwards Imagine it as the engineer’s and physics teacher’s favourite room: there is a machine for testing the breaking strength and distortion of fittings such as backstays a homemade climate cabinet constructed from a sunbed and a steamer where new varnishes are being tested There is an experiment under way using connectors made with a 3D printer Some kilometres away along snow-packed roads what they produce is for Swans and only Swans a man they call ‘the teak hunter’ because he travels out to Burma to select the timber that will be used for veneers on the majority of Swans Nautor’s Swan is unusual in stitching the veneer skins onto the plywood itself (all the furniture is foam-cored) It’s a similar story with areas such as bunk corners and table trims It would be cheaper and quicker to buy and fit ready-made inserts for the corners but here they are all cold-moulded in situ to achieve the best possible timber colour match It is an intricate process and the attention to reducing weight is highly impressive Making the major components of furniture for the new Swan 115 The joiner work for each cabin is pre-assembled for checking then taken apart so the wood can be given its surface treatment and finally attachments such as lockers and hinges are added before it is taken to the BTC facility at Pietarsaari where it is fitted into the hull which has been updated and finessed since the purchase of the company in 1998 by an investment group led by Italian fashion group magnate and Swan owner Leonardo Ferragamo It is telling that even at the top end of the range today where custom fit-out is an unquestioned expectation owners have gone for the quintessential Swan look part of the attraction: if you are buying a Swan you want it to look and behave just like one Custom details requested can nevertheless be very intricate: one owner’s wife wanted white leather panelling on a master cabin bulkhead to be sewn with the same type of running stitch as her designer handbag The June 2025 issue of Yachting World is out now Continuing exploration drilling is planned in the Rapasaari mining area Finnish battery minerals miner Keliber has secured building and environmental permits respectively for its planned Päiväneva concentrator and the Kokkola lithium chemical plant Keliber will build the concentrator plant on the border of the Kaustinen and Kronoby municipalities The concentrator will produce spodumene concentrate from lithium ore mined in the area The concentrate will be processed further at the Kokkola lithium chemical plant where it will be converted into battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate A building permit decision was approved by the Environmental Protection Committee of Kaustinen and the Building Control of Kronoby in June 2022 the Regional State Administrative Agency for Western and Inland Finland (AVI) granted the environmental permit for Keliber's lithium chemical plant The building permit applies to the concentrator building and a related combined laboratory and control room building The building permit for the lithium chemical plant entered into legal force in June 2022 The company aims to begin construction this summer and production in 2024 Continuing exploration drilling is planned in the Rapasaari mining area and Päiväneva concentrator area The environmental permit decision includes a right to start operations despite eventual appeals which means that Keliber is able to start preparations for the operative phase immediately under the conditions of the permit The construction of the lithium chemical plant is scheduled to start this summer and production in 2024 Keliber will produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide which is needed in the lithium-ion batteries of electric vehicles "The environmental permit for the plant and the right to start operations is good news for us and our customers as the permit makes it possible for the project to continue within the planned timeframe lithium hydroxide is expected to be in short supply due to the ongoing green transition that will greatly increase the demand for lithium-ion batteries," says Hannu Hautala The planned annual production of the lithium chemical plant is 15,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate Its main raw material is spodumene concentrate which Keliber will produce from its own ore in the Päiväneva area of Kaustinen Keliber may purchase spodumene concentrate from outside suppliers Keliber's lithium hydroxide production is based on soda leaching technology which benefits from material and energy efficiency Circulated process water accounts for about 80% of the plant's total process water consumption primarily in the expansion of the Port of Kokkola The lithium chemical plant entity consists of several buildings with a total surface area of more than 18,000 square meters The construction phase will directly employ about 250 people; after the start of continuous production about 75 people will work in the plant area Rainbow Rare Earths reveals extraction progress each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team MMI Future Fleets Report 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions Exclusive research for Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation and Digitalisation Report 2024 shows mining companies are embracing cutting-edge tech The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates Aspermont Media is a company registered in England and Wales InvestingNorthvolt Founder Explores Green Aluminium Plant With Rio TintoBy Rafaela LindebergPublished: December 06, 2024 at 8:51AM EST (Bloomberg) -- Just weeks after the collapse of Swedish battery maker Northvolt AB, its founder Vargas Holding is turning its attention to another energy-intensive industry that needs cleaning up. Partnering with Rio Tinto Plc, Fortum Oyj and Mitsubishi Corp., Vargas plans to build a low-carbon primary aluminum plant in Finland that could be up and running late this decade. The project — named Arctial — would add another piece to the Swedish investment firm’s portfolio that also includes green steel, textile recycling and heat pumps.  “We are talking a big industrial investment,” Torbjorn Sternsjo, the manager of Arctial, said in an interview on Friday. Arctial will start a feasibility study early next year, and a final investment decision could be made in 2026 or 2027 for a plant that may produce as much as 500,000 tons of aluminum per year. “We have a clear plan where we want to go and with owners that have a perfect combination of competences,” Sternsjo said. With consumers in the region now relying heavily on imports, Arctial and its partners are eyeing an opportunity to tap Finland’s cheap sources of green energy and Rio’s technical expertise to build a smelter with a lower carbon footprint than traditional processes. It would also be the first of its kind in more than 30 years, with Rio saying it would aim to become an off-taker in the partnership.  Aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive metals to make, and European production was hammered as power prices spiked in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There’s been a modest rebound as energy prices have receded in recent months, but there are ongoing worries that output at Europe’s ageing fleet of smelters will never fully recover. Fortum, Finland’s largest power producer, will help with electricity and hedging strategies.  Vargas says two potential locations have been identified, in Kokkola and Kronoby on the Finnish west coast. Both have good access to fossil-free power, as well as a “strong industrial heritage in metals,” according to the investor’s website. “Geopolitical and regulatory tailwinds further underscore the need for European aluminum production. This makes the establishment of a European greenfield aluminum operation attractive,” Vargas said. The impact investor’s biggest bet so far, Northvolt, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US last month after an aggressive expansion plan unraveled leaving it with just one week’s cash in its accounts. The company had received about $10 billion in debt, equity and public grants as it aimed to become Europe’s homegrown supplier of EV batteries. Twitter feed ©2025 BellMedia All Rights Reserved Construction work is scheduled to start this summer and production in 2024 Finnish mining and battery chemical company Keliber has said its Syväjärvi Rapasaari and Outovesi lithium mining areas and the Päiväneva concentrator area have been approved by local councils The company said Kokkola City Council and the Municipal Councils of Kaustinen and Kronoby Keliber's construction work is scheduled to start this summer and production in 2024 The company has environmental and mining permits for the Syväjärvi mining area which will be the first to be commissioned and where preparatory construction work has been started "We are very pleased with the progress of the zoning made by Kokkola Kaustinen and Kronoby councils and would like to thank local decision-makers and landowners for their good co-operation We will continue meetings and an active dialogue also in the future," says CEO Hannu Hautala Keliber and Metso Outotec signed an agreement regarding the basic engineering of the Päiväneva concentrator in June 2020 Metso Outotec will design the concentrator process and process equipment for the production flow sheet: ore crushing The basic engineering of the concentrator is based on the new location of the concentrator next to the main mining sites social and economic parameters which will be incorporated in the solution for the concentrator Keliber started preparatory work at Syväjärvi in 2021 including activities such as the removal of overburden building sedimentation basins and a wetland for overland flow Keliber has been granted the mining safety permit This will be utilised both as crushed rock and aggregate in building infrastructure such as the basin structures and foundations and surfaces for roads "Syväjärvi's wall rock works very well as material for building infrastructure Utilising wall rock as utility material for the future mine is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly as the stone supply is nearby has been a part of our operations from the very beginning," says Hautala The construction phase at Syväjärvi will last for about two years during which time about one million tonnes of wall rock will be mined The rock material will be utilised also in the construction of the Päiväneva concentrator area Lithium ore production is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024 and continue for about four years mining will continue at the Rapasaari mine in the Päiväneva area and the Syväjärvi mine will be rehabilitated in accordance with a separate plan and the provisions of the environmental permit