Page 168 - CW E-Magazine (1-4-2025)

News from Abroad

CATHODE ACTIVE MATERIAL
Finnish Minerals Group and Chinese partner begin

construction of battery materials plant

Finnish Minerals Group, a Finland
government owned company focussed
on developing the mining and battery
industry in Finland, and its joint ven-
ture partner, Beijing Easpring Mate-
rial Technology (Easpring), a Chinese
supplier of lithium battery cathode mate-
rials, have decided to start the construc-
tion of a battery material plant in Fin-
land.

The plant to be constructed in Kotka,
will produce cathode active material
(CAM), needed to produce lithium-ion
batteries. The plant’s first-stage capa-
city will be 60-ktpa of CAM. The plans
also include the possibility of expand- To implement the project, the Finnish and an important step forward for the
ing production in the future. State will capitalise Finnish Minerals Finnish battery value chain and battery
Group with €100-mn. The project business.”
The investment project is carried out construction will start in the spring of
by Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, 2025, with commercial production likely The permit authorities processed
established in 2024, of which Finnish in 2027. the plant’s environmental permit under
Minerals Group owns 30% and Beijing the green transition priority procedure,
Easpring Material Technology owns “With the Kotka CAM plant, we are and it became legally binding in
70%. The value of the investment pro- creating an entirely new kind of indus- December 2024. Approximately 80
ject is approximately €800-mn. In addi- try in Finland related to the production hectares have been reserved for the
tion to the funding from the owners, of lithium-ion batteries,” said Matti project in the Keltakallio industrial
the project will seek financing through Hietanen, CEO, Finnish Minerals Group. area in Kotka, and a lease for the 27.8
external loans and the clean transition “Even on a European scale, the plant hectares needed for the first phase was
aid scheme for industrial investments. is a spearhead project for the industry signed in January 2025.

ENSURING WATER CIRCULARITY
Archroma’s Thai operations deploy Gradiant’s zero

liquid discharge technology

Archroma, a Swiss speciality chemi- The project is expected to enable ficantly reducing reliance on local wa-
cals firm, said it has implemented a the recovery of 90-95% of waste- ter supplies while improving environ-
novel Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) water for reuse and the extraction of mental resilience.
technology at its Mahachai plant in valuable minerals for industrial appli-
Thailand. The membrane- and oxida- cations. Located in a water-stressed As part of its broader sustainabi-
tion-based solution was designed and region near Bangkok, the Mahachai lity endeavour, Archroma addresses
built by Gradiant, a leader in advanced plant now serves as a model for sus- critical challenges within the apparel
water and wastewater treatment. tainable textile dye production, signi- and textile industry, particularly water

168 Chemical Weekly April 1, 2025

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