Adven is implementing a renewable energy-based power plant for Terrafame’s new battery chemicals plant

Terrafame and Adven have agreed to implement a new energy plant based on renewable energy for the new Terrafame’s battery chemicals plant in Sotkamo. At the same time, the energy co-operation between the two companies will deepen further, as Adven will from henceforth be managing the complete energy needs of the plant. The investment costs for Terrafame’s Sotkamo battery chemicals plant total approximately EUR 240 million. With the new plant starting in 2021, the company's energy demands will also increase.

The new 10 MW solid fuel energy plant will use renewable fuels to produce steam and heat energy for the manufacture of battery chemicals and for the other needs of the site. The agreement also covers a production unit for high-pressure steam, which is needed to start production processes. Adven will also develop the energy production infrastructure and energy efficiency of the factory area, and an agreement has also now been made to build energy transfer pipelines.

“The battery chemicals plant has been designed with energy-efficient solutions, and with this new energy cooperation we are able to reduce the cost of energy used, while at the same time replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy as part of the Finnish forest industry’s value chain”, says Pertti Pekkala, the project manager for the Terrafame battery chemicals plant.

”Energy is critical to the Terrafame production process, so it is imperative for us to guarantee stable production for our customers at all times. Having responsibility for complete energy production creates good basis for the continuous development of this partnership”, says Juha Elo, Sales Director of Adven.
 

Reducing CO₂ emissions unites us

With the new investment, Terrafame's current main product, nickel-cobalt sulfide, will be further refined into battery chemicals which are used as raw material for electric car batteries. The availability of nickel and cobalt will be critical factor in the strong market growth of electric cars.

“With the completion of our own battery chemicalsplant, we will get closer to the end users in the value chain, and Terrafame will become a major player in the industry of reducing CO₂ emissions from traffic. The carbon footprint of our bioleaching processes is significantly lower than traditional metals production processes. The new biofuel-based energy plant will continue to strengthen our position as a producer of low carbon footprint battery chemicals”, states Joni Lukkaroinen, Terrafame’s CEO.

“We have the same mission as Terrafame, which is to reduce CO₂ emissions. Terrafame manufactures battery chemicals that help us move toward low-emissions traffic. We are proud to be involved in this work and can help ensure that the carbon footprint of the energy used in the production of battery chemicals is as small as possible”, explains Arto Liikanen, Sales Manager at Adven.

In the past, Terrafame’s Sotkamo plant used liquefied petroleum gas as fuel for energy production. It will be almost entirely replaced with a domestic and clean wood-based fuel, e.g. with forestry wood chip, recycled wood or sawmill by-products. This will result in a significant reduction in the carbon dioxide emissions from energy production, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of produced battery chemicals.

Additional information:
Terrafame, Joni Lukkaroinen, CEO, tel. +358 20 7130 800 (switch)
Adven, Juha Elo, Sales Director, juha.elo@adven.com, tel. +358 40 5944755

 

Adven

At Adven, we are driven by a purpose to create advantage in energy for business, people and planet. We strive to be part of the solution to climate change and believe we can make a difference with every sustainable energy solution that we find, build and run together with our customers.

Adven is the leading provider of energy and water services across the Nordic and Baltic countries. For industries Adven produces industrial steam, heat and cold as well as provides utility and processing solutions to improve energy, water and material efficiency. For real estate segment Adven produces heating and cooling based on district heating or property-specific solutions applying for instance bio- and geoenergy. Our business model is based on full service and long-term partnership.

Our annual turnover is over €200m, and our total balance sheet is €800m. We have almost 40 years of experience, and we employ about 370 specialists. We operate more than 300 sites with total capacity of 1900 MW. www.adven.com
 

Terrafame

Terrafame Ltd is a Finnish multi-metal company producing nickel, zinc, cobalt and copper at its mine and metals production plant located in Sotkamo, Finland. With the battery chemicals plant currently being built, our main product, nickel-cobalt sulfide, can be processed into nickel and cobalt sulphates that are suitable for electric vehicle batteries. Our aim is to conduct environmentally sustainable, safe and profitable operations. www.terrafame.com