Finnish Minerals Group and Beijing Easpring to establish a JV company to advance the CAM plant project in Kotka

In November 2021, Finnish Minerals Group announced that it is negotiating with Beijing Easpring Material Technology on the possibility to establish a cathode active materials (CAM) plant in Kotka, Finland. The parties have now agreed to set up a joint venture company by the end of 2023, of which Beijing Easpring Material Technology will own 70 per cent and Finnish Minerals Group 30 per cent.

“I am very happy that our work with Beijing Easpring, one of the world’s leading producers of cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries, will continue in the form of a joint venture. This indicates the great potential both parties see in the Kotka production facility to succeed in the European market, both in short and long term. The plant would also strengthen Finland’s role in the European battery value chain and bring new economic activity into the Kymenlaakso region and beyond,” says Matti Hietanen, CEO of Finnish Minerals Group.

Founded in 2001, Beijing Easpring is a developer, manufacturer, and supplier of lithium-ion battery cathode materials. The company was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010. It currently has production facilities in Changzhou and Haimen in Jiangsu province, and Panzhihua in Sichuan province. It is actively promoting global expansion.

“The Finnish project has passed the approval of Board of Directors, which is of great significance to our company’s expansion overseas. We are honored to have established a close collaboration with Finnish Minerals Group to jointly invest in this project. As the first Chinese cathode materials company to invest and build a plant in Europe, we will maximise Finland’s location advantages and resource advantages, accelerate production capacity development, energise the European EVB value chain, and contribute to the growth of global green and low-carbon economy,” says CHEN Yanbin, General Manager of Beijing Easpring.

Next step: permitting procedure

The project will next move to more detailed planning and to the permitting phase, in which the joint venture company prepares to submit, for example, the construction and environmental permit applications for the plant. The preparatory works at the Keltakallio industrial site were already started at the end of 2021, and the site levelling and preparation works will continue through summer 2023.

The initial investment will be approximately 774 million euros and the planned production will meet the cathode material need of more than 750,000 full electric vehicles per year. The production capacity of the plant can be expanded in the future.

Once operational, the plant will employ approximately 360 people. It will boost the economy in the region already in the construction phase through direct impacts as well as multiplicative effects from the production and expenses.

More information for the media:

Matti Hietanen, CEO
Finnish Minerals Group
+358 40 823 8806
firstname.lastname(at)mineralsgroup.fi

Vesa Koivisto, SVP, Battery Operations
Finnish Minerals Group
+358 50 453 6322
firstname.lastname(at)mineralsgroup.fi

Terms used in the text:
Cathode active material – a powdery end product used to manufacture cathodes, the most valuable part of the battery cell, in cell plants. Abbreviated as CAM.

Finnish Minerals Group
The mission of Finnish Minerals Group is to responsibly maximise the value of Finnish minerals. We manage the State’s mining industry shareholdings and strive to develop the Finnish value chain of lithium-ion batteries. In addition, we are engaged in long-term technology development of the mining and battery industry. Through our work, we contribute to Europe moving towards electric transport and a more sustainable future. www.mineralsgroup.fi

Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co. Ltd.
Beijing Easpring Material Technology Co., Ltd. is a lithium-ion battery cathode material developer, manufacturer and provider, which was established in 2001 and listed on ChiNext in 2010. The company has developed into one of the most influential enterprises in the field of lithium battery positive electrode materials and intelligent equipment, integrating independent innovation, achievement transformation, and industrial operation. The company mainly engages in technical research, production and sales of multiple materials, lithium iron/manganese phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide and other cathode materials, as well as multiple precursor materials.  It currently has production facilities in Changzhou and Haimen in Jiangsu province, and Panzhihua in Sichuan province. The company's application markets include automotive power batteries, energy storage batteries, digital consumer electronics and power tools, electric two-wheeled vehicles, and other small power lithium batteries.

Over the years, the company has accumulated the trust of many large customers with its outstanding independent research and development capabilities, advanced quality control system and rapid market response mechanism, established a good brand image in the domestic and foreign markets, and won an important industry position.

The company's automotive power high-nickel multi-element materials are the first to be mass-produced in China and exported to Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States in large quantities, and are used in high-end electric vehicles at home and abroad in large quantities. The company took the lead in developing multiple materials for energy storage in China, and this product has been used in large quantities in the international high-end energy storage market. The company's high-rate products are in a leading position in the domestic high-end small lithium battery market such as model airplanes and drones, and occupy a relatively high market share. Easpring has net profit of EUR 286 million and about 1,500 employees.