6 April 2023

Next week, Mundus Nordic Green News takes a break for Easter holidays. We will see you back again on April 17.

Today's Top Nordic Green News:

• Ilmarinen invests almost €2 billion in new green fund
• Stena Recycling opens first industrial plant for lithium-ion battery recycling in Sweden
• Talga set to mine graphite in Kiruna for electric car batteries despite protests

Ilmarinen invests almost €2 billion in new green fund

The Finnish pension insurance company Ilmarinen has become an investor in the US's largest ever ETF listing on the climate-focused ETF Xtrackers MSCI USA Climate Action Equity ETF. Ilmarinen invested EUR 1.86 billion on the first trading day and is thus the largest investor in the fund. According to Ilmarinen, the move helps to obtain broad diversification in terms of the climate, and supports the goal of a carbon-neutral investment portfolio by the end of 2035. The fund in question tracks the new MSCI USA Climate Action index. Ilmarinen was involved in the development of the index because, according to the company, there were no climate indices suitable for Ilmarinen on the market.

Kauppalehti

Stena Recycling opens first industrial plant for lithium-ion battery recycling in Sweden

Stena Recycling has opened its first industrial plant for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries in southern Sweden. The facility has an annual recycling capacity of 10,000 tonnes and can recycle up to 95% of an electric lithium-ion car battery. It will handle battery material collected and pre-treated at Stena Recycling's existing facilities in seven European countries. The plant was built with an investment of SEK 250 million, and Stena Recycling has already signed agreements with industrial partners in both battery and car manufacturing. The company expects to handle five to 10 times higher volume than it currently does within a decade.

Press Release

Talga set to mine graphite in Kiruna for electric car batteries despite protests

The Swedish Land and Environment Court has given the green light for a graphite mine to be opened in Vittangi, Kiruna. Australian mining company, Talga Group, aims to extract 100,000 tons of ore every year to use in the production of electric car batteries. Graphite is an important component in the transition to renewable energy and could help the EU break its dependence on China, which currently dominates graphite mining. However, the decision has been met with strong criticism from the Sami villages, which say the mine will encroach on pastures and migration routes, and the Nature Conservation Society, which had requested the entire project be reviewed. The affected parties have said they will continue to fight the decision.

DN, TheMarketHerald

Challenging to achieve new renewable energy targets following EU Directive

The EU has agreed to increase its renewable energy targets as a response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with a goal of at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, which is the EU directive on renewable energy (REDIII). The directive includes stricter rules for bioenergy and the share of renewable energy in buildings, heating and cooling. The EU Commission's previous temporary emergency measures for faster permit processes for renewable energy projects have also been made permanent, with EU member states required to establish areas with simplified permit processes. The EU has also presented proposals for a new electricity market design, state aid rules for green energy, a critical raw materials regulation, a green industrial transition plan and a new European hydrogen bank.

This will impact Sweden, as they will likely need to have over 70% renewable energy by 2030. The decision also includes a contentious issue surrounding the use of bioenergy from forests, with environmental organisations protesting against the compromise. The settlement allows for member countries to define which forests are considered old, but Sweden must carry out a comprehensive survey of which forests must be protected. The government has also been wrong about the target's importance for the reduction obligation, as train and electric car traffic are included in the target. All member states must approve the compromise, and it may take approximately 18 months for the directive to be incorporated into the legislation of the member states.

DN, Press Release

Finnair discontinues flight connections to Tampere and Turku

Finnair is discontinuing its flights to Tampere and Turku in Finland from May, replacing them with bus services to Helsinki-Vantaa airport. The airline has said that the flights are too short and emit too much in relation to the small number of passengers they carry, with a 35% load factor. The new bus services will operate four times a day between the airports and the cities, without stopping at the airports themselves. The move will allow Finnair to reduce emissions and costs, as well as offering better connections for customers to longer international flights.

Taloussanomat, Kauppalehti, Hufvudstadsbladet

Swedish power grid faces uncertainty over offshore wind power subsidies

The Swedish power grid company, Svenska kraftnät, is facing a difficult situation with conflicting messages from the old and new governments regarding offshore wind power subsidies. While the 2016 multi-party agreement promised to scrap the connection fee for offshore wind power to increase its competitiveness, the new government wants to eliminate the subsidy. The situation has put Svenska kraftnät in a state of limbo as it continues to work with the old government's plans. Moreover, the model the company is working with risks violating EU competition rules, which could lead to the repayment of support. Despite this, companies such as Ørsted and Ikea are planning to enter Sweden's offshore wind market regardless of government support.

DN

Demand for Ferroamp’s energy management products increase and the company announces plans for fully guaranteed rights issue

Swedish energy management solutions company Ferroamp has announced its intention to carry out a fully guaranteed rights issue of approximately SEK 220 million to fund a B2B offer in frequency support services and energy optimisation, complete the industrialisation of the current product portfolio, strengthen the R&D function to continue developing the second-generation products and to have working capital in the form of increased inventory to cost-effectively secure hardware for increasing sales volumes. 

Ferroamp specialises in providing a hardware and software platform for optimising energy consumption in properties. Demand for Ferroamp's products has grown sharply in recent years, with net sales increasing from SEK 46 million to SEK 205 million between 2019 and 2022. The gross margin has also improved, aided by the fact that production is entirely outsourced to external production partners since 2021.

Di

Finland set to receive EUR 10 billion investment in solar energy

Auringosta Energiaa, a coalition of 17 solar power developers in Finland, has announced a EUR 10 billion investment in solar power in the country. Finland aims to obtain two-thirds of its daily energy needs from renewable sources, with solar power expected to play a significant role alongside wind and other renewables. The coalition aims to create a framework for the production of 18 terawatt hours in 2035, which corresponds to 26 percent of the electricity production in 2022, and would significantly promote investments in renewable electricity production and green hydrogen. Solar power projects also bring vitality to their regions and have minimal landscape effects compared to wind turbines.

Uusiteknologia

What we’re reading

• Secret report from Shell warned of climate disaster – as early as 1989 (Dagens Nyheter, Swedish)

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