Over 1,000 workers now on site at Kotka battery materials plant

The first production line at the battery materials plant in Kotka will be completed by late summer, with sample batches set to ship soon to Poland, according to a report by Finnish broadcaster Yle.

The initial customer is South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions, which operates a battery cell plant in Poland. The samples, components for electric vehicle batteries, will be produced for about two months before full-scale manufacturing begins next year.

“The first samples will go to the battery cell plant in Poland, and from there to the European automotive industry,” said Vesa Koivisto, commercial director of Easpring Finland New Materials, the Chinese-Finnish company behind the project.

Construction of the €800 million plant in Kotka’s Keltakallio area currently employs up to 1,000 people daily, with peak numbers reaching 1,300 earlier this month. Work is now carried out in two extended shifts, though night shifts have been discontinued after earlier schedule adjustments.

Since the project began, around 4,000 workers have been involved, over half of them Finnish, with approximately 650 Chinese. The plant’s main contractor is China Harbour Engineering Company, and its majority owner is Beijing Easpring Material Technology.

In addition to construction, about 70 staff have already been hired for next year’s production phase, including over 40 Chinese employees.