by Kelly Barraza
Green steel production has reinforced its position in the Nordic region, having seen a big push in corporate investment in a region that has a stable, innovation-driven environment with clean energy options, greatly developed infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce.
Norway-based Blastr Green Steel successfully secured a second round of strategic partner financing, advancing the development of its flagship steel plant in Inkoo, Finland, powered partly with hydrogen. Finland has a long tradition and deep expertise in steel manufacturing. Antti Kaikkonen, Finland country manager for Blastr Green Steel, says Finland knows how to build, operate and maintain critical 24/7 industrial processes.
“Finland has a very robust power grid, and today, over 95% of its electricity production is carbon dioxide-free,” Kaikkonen tells Site Selection. “In addition, Finland has the most extensive renewable energy project development portfolio in Europe. The required amount of electricity is available at a competitive price.”
Finland aims to be carbon neutral by 2035 and is committed to establishing a circular economy. “We recommend companies explore areas with strong local support and access to CO2-free electricity,” Kaikkonen says. “The past year has reinforced the need for resilient supply chains, sustainable production models and building cost competitiveness. Blastr Green Steel is integrating sustainability into every step of the process — using green hydrogen and fossil-free electricity and focusing on circularity. Our goal is to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions while maintaining high-quality steel production and cost competitiveness in European markets.”
Blastr has worked closely with the Port of Inkoo Authority on land and harbor development. The entities will cooperate to develop Inkoo Shipping’s harbor areas for Blastr’s future cargo.
Northern Europe Forges Path for Sustainable Steel
Recently, Norwegian steelmaker Celsa Nordic was rebranded as 7 Steel Nordic after being acquired by Prague-based Sev.en Global Investments in April. Cardiff, Wales-based Celsa Steel UK was also acquired in this move, now touting the name 7 Steel UK. Both groups will produce an overall production capacity of 2 million metric tons.
Last year’s rebranding of Stockholm-based Stegra, founded in 2020 and formerly named H2 Green Steel, followed the steel company’s successful raising of €6 billion in funding for the world’s largest green steel production facility in Boden, located in northern Sweden. The Swedish Energy Agency’s Industrial Leap fund granted approximately €100 million to the development of a plant in Boden. This capital comes from a larger €265 million program approved by the European Commission looking to further green steel in Sweden.
Northern Sweden was chosen as the location of the plant due to its close access to the power grid, availability of raw materials and existing logistics infrastructure. Stegra plans on producing 5 million tons of green steel annually by 2030 and is planning a second phase of development with the goal of doubling production capacity.