The Norwegian company Blastr has announce plans for a plant at Inkoo using renewable energy in steel production.
Norwegian company Blastr has announced plans to establish a green steel plant with an integrated hydrogen production facility in Inkoo, Finland.
Blastr agreed a letter of intent with Finland’s Fortum energy company that provides exclusive rights to utilize an existing industrial site located in Inkoo, on the Finnish south coast.
Decarbonized steel, also known as “green steel”, uses local and renewable energy as the basis for heating, reduction and melting, rather than fossil fuels. The plant planned for Inkoo is to produce two and a half million tons of high-quality hot and cold-rolled green steel annually.
The investment value of the project is approximately four billion euros and will employ approximately 1,200 people when completed, marking one of the largest single industrial investments in Finland’s history.
According to Blastr Green Steel CEO Hans Fredrik Wittusen, Inkoo was selected as as the site for the plant due to its existing infrastructure, deep harbour, access to nearby European markets, and availability of electricity from emission-free sources.
Production is set to begin from the start of 2026.
Inkoo was most recently in the headlines when Finland’s first floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived at the port in late December.
Attracting green investments
Finland’s Economy Minister Mika Lintilä (Cen) stated in a press release that Blastr’s decision to locate its new plant at Inkoo is an indication of the competitiveness of Finnish industry and infrastructure.
He described Finland as an excellent place for carbon-neutral industry and production of decarbonized steel, as the Nordic nation has a strong and reliable electricity grid, good conditions for producing emission-free energy and efficient logistics.
Risto Murro, CEO of the pension company Varma told Yle on Tuesday that the news of Blastr’s planned steel mill shows that Finland is an attractive country for green investments.
“Clearly a lot of investments in heavy industry are being made in Finland now,” Murto said, adding that Finland has also managed to attract other energy investments, such as wind power, with industrial projects increasingly enticed by access to those sources of renewable energy.