The green steel producer Blastr Green Steel is moving forward with a major project that could be one of Finland’s largest industrial enterprises. The company is planning a €4 billion ($4.3 billion) investment to construct a low-carbon steel factory using green hydrogen instead of polluting coking coal.
The facility is set to produce 2.5 million tons of hot and cold-rolled green steel annually from 2026.
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Blastr also signed a letter of intent with Fortum Oyj announced on January 3rd for the exclusive use of Fortum’s industrial site in Joddböle, Inkoo in western Finland for the location of the factory. The project is expected to employ up to 1,200 people in the operational phase.
According to Chief Executive Officer Hans Fredrik Wittusen, the reason the company chose Finland for its factory location is in part due to the abundance of wind power.
The next step for Blastr Green Steel is to carry out the necessary preliminary studies, plans and environmental impact assessments to move forward with the project. It is yet to secure funding and it plans to raise debt and funds on the capital markets.
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As green hydrogen for heating the iron ore in the huge blast furnaces is a cleaner and more viable option than polluting coking coal, other companies are also starting to explore it. A number of companies – Sweden’s SSAB AB, Finland’s Outokumpu Oyj, Aurubis, for example, are looking into the green steel technology.
