Kotka battery materials plant delays production as lines remain unfinished

Production at Easpring Finland’s battery materials plant under construction in Kotka is significantly delayed because its production lines are not ready, Yle reports. Sample production, initially planned for late summer, is now expected to begin next spring, while commercial production cannot start until customers have tested and approved the material.

The company’s commercial director, Vesa Koivisto, said changes were made to the production line during construction. The company also decided to build two lines instead of one. Koivisto expects them to be completed next spring, after which samples can be sent to customers for testing.

The company has several customers but has publicly named only one so far: South Korean company LG Energy Solutions, which has a battery cell plant in Poland. Koivisto said the company cannot estimate how long testing will take or when commercial production can begin.

About 20 production operators have already been hired for the plant, although the lines are not operating. They are assigned other tasks, such as helping maintenance staff and checking whether equipment has been installed. Maria Mäntylä, one of the operators and the workers’ chief shop steward, said the downtime can make the days feel long.

Because operators are currently working day shifts only, their pay does not include shift allowances. Mäntylä said the lost amount was “quite substantial”. She started at the company in December.

The 800 million euro plant is being built in the Keltakallio area of Kotka. Construction began last spring, and the approximately 28-hectare site is planned to contain 15 buildings. The company says construction is currently at its busiest, with between 1,100 and 1,400 people working there each day. Around 6,000 people have worked on the project so far; 65 per cent have been Finnish, and workers have come from 54 nationalities.

The plant is intended to make components for battery cells that will ultimately be used in electric vehicles for the European automotive industry.