Hycamite plans multibillion-euro graphite plant in Finland

Finnish startup Hycamite is planning a graphite plant with an estimated cost of two to three billion euros that could cover up to 40 percent of Europe’s battery-grade graphite demand, the company said in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The planned plant represents the second phase of Hycamite’s expansion in Kokkola, where the company already operates a hydrogen production facility. The first phase, a 50-million-euro pilot plant, is set to begin construction next year on an adjacent plot in Kokkola’s large-scale industrial area.

At full capacity, the plant would produce 200 kilotonnes of graphite annually, according to CEO Laura Rahikka. She said the company intends to build the plant in stages rather than all at once.

Rahikka noted that Kokkola offers favourable conditions for future development, pointing to a separate multibillion-euro aluminium project planned by Arctial in the same area. She did not comment on the potential employment impact of the graphite plant.

The company has shifted its export strategy due to global political changes. The United States was originally intended to be Hycamite’s main market, but Rahikka said the business environment there is currently too unstable and that US operations are on hold while the company focuses on Europe.

Hycamite’s large-scale graphite plant must be built in Finland because the company is listed under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) for strategic projects. “As a Kokkola-based company, we hope to get it here to Kokkola. No decision has been made yet,” Rahikka said.

The Kokkola industrial area already hosts a cobalt refinery operated by Jervois and a lithium mine project by Keliber, whose processing plant is also located there.