The parties have signed a joint development agreement under which they will assess the feasibility of establishing an LFP cathode material plant in Vaasa, Finland.
FINNISH MINERALS COLLABORATES WITH FREYR BATTERY. (Credit: Hans Rohmann from Pixabay)
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.
Source: Company Press Release