International companies choose Finland

BASF’s new plant will be constructed adjacent to a nickel and cobalt refinery owned by Russian company Nornickel. The two companies have signed a long-term, market-based supply agreement for nickel and cobalt feedstocks from Nornickel’s metal refinery.

The strategic co-operation seeks to meet the growing need for battery materials in electric vehicles. The plant will harness hydro, wind and biomass energy sources to power the supply of approximately 300 000 full electric vehicles annually with BASF battery materials.

Operations at the plant are slated to commence in late 2020.

“With this world-scale production facility, BASF will be able to serve the European e-mobility growth strategies of key [original equipment manufacturers] OEMs and cell suppliers with reliable supply and close collaboration,” statesJeffrey Lou, senior vice president of battery materials at BASF.

Meanwhile, management consultancy company CIVITTA is offering three service lines from its new Helsinki office. These include helping Nordic businesses grow in their home markets, supporting in market entry and business development in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, and providing sourcing services of data analysts and other problem-solving capabilities for organisations.

“The demand for diverse, high-value problem solving is strong,” saysTuomas Virtanen, managing partner at CIVITTA Finland. “Data volumes are growing at a huge pace, and we believe that successful companies must seamlessly integrate data analytics with their strategy. We are here to help with that.”

“Finland and the other Nordic countries are a great opportunity for us,” adds company co-founder Riivo Anton.

The article has been amended to correctly state the value of the investment.