Finnish Minerals Group and FREYR Battery collaborate to develop a cathode material plant in Finland

Finnish Minerals Group, a mining and battery industry development and investment company, and FREYR Battery (“Freyr”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, have agreed on cooperation to assess the feasibility of establishing an LFP cathode material plant in the city of Vaasa. The parties plan to establish a joint venture company upon successful completion of initial phase studies and receiving investment decisions approval.

“FREYR is already firmly positioned in Finland, bringing its speed, scale, and sustainable approach to potentially establish a thriving battery industry in the City of Vaasa. We are excited to now begin this exploration phase with the FREYR team,” says Vesa Koivisto, SVP, Battery Value Chain at Finnish Minerals Group.

“We have long stated that our sourcing strategy is local in nature and based on renewable energy sources, and we see Finnish Minerals Group as a like-minded partner that can help ensure that we are well-positioned to meet this ambition,” says Axel Thorsdal, SVP Project Development, FREYR. “We are closely following the EU-debate on how to secure internationally competitive framework conditions for the battery industry in Europe,” he adds.

The potential joint plant project aims to be a spearhead project for the production of LFP cathode material in Europe. LFP cathode material – which is based on lithium, iron and phosphate – is needed especially in the large-scale energy-storage battery segment. In the initial study phase, Finnish Minerals Group and FREYR are focusing on the business plan, front-end engineering, cost estimates, financing, and environmental impact assessment.

At the beginning of January 2023, FREYR Battery submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) programme for the plant to the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of South Ostrobothnia, which serves as the coordinating authority. The EIA procedure will be based on two capacity alternatives: 20,000 and 60,000 tonnes per year. The plant would be located in the GigaVaasa industrial area in the City of Vaasa, where FREYR has reserved a plot of 51 hectares.
 

For more information:

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

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

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. Through our work, we contribute to Europe moving towards electric transport and a more sustainable future. www.mineralsgroup.fi

FREYR Battery

FREYR Battery aims to provide industrial scale clean battery solutions to reduce global emissions. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, FREYR’s mission is to produce green battery cells to accelerate the decarbonization of energy and transportation systems globally. FREYR has commenced building the first of its planned factories in Mo i Rana, Norway and announced potential development of industrial scale battery cell production in Vaasa, Finland, and the United States. FREYR intends to install 50 GWh of battery cell capacity by 2025 and 100 GWh annual capacity by 2028 and 200 GWh of annual capacity by 2030. www.freyrbattery.com