A China-Finland-Korea consortium has secured €514.4mn in export credit agency-backed green finance from five international banks, supporting the development of a major Finnish battery manufacturing plant.
The project is a joint venture that is 70%-owned by Beijing Easpring Material Technology, a producer of cathode active materials for lithium-ion batteries, with Finnish Materials Group owning just over 28% and LG Energy Solution owning nearly 2%.
Once complete, the Easpring Finland plant – which is based in Kotka, southeast Finland – is expected to become one of Europe’s largest producers of materials ultimately used for electric vehicles and energy storage.
The green facility was backed by Finnish and Chinese export credit agencies, Finnvera and Sinosure, which Easpring Finland said reflects “broad support for the project’s strategic importance to the European battery ecosystem”.
Société Générale acted as sole financial advisor, as well as mandated lead arranger alongside Natixis and joint green loan coordinator with Standard Chartered.
Standard Chartered said its role also covered capital flows, cash management and foreign exchange, noting that the renminbi is actively used in the investment structure.
The other participating lenders were DNB, ICBC and ING, according to Easpring Finland.
“The Kotka facility establishes a strategic manufacturing platform in Europe and contributes to the development of a resilient battery supply chain while supporting Europe’s clean energy transition,” said Jashon Guan, Easpring Finland’s chief executive.
“It is also expected to foster greater collaboration and development across the battery value chain in Finland and Europe.”
Standard Chartered said the involvement of Finnvera and Sinosure “also underlines the vital role export credit agencies can play in unlocking long-term capital for strategically important industrial projects”.
