Imatra’s Pelkola area is known not only for its border crossing point but also for the steel company Ovako, which celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. The steel plant’s €15 million investment in its rough-rolling mill — its largest in more than 30 years — is nearing completion and will increase the plant’s production capacity.
In Ovako’s neighbourhood, new areas are being planned for energy-sector operators. Norwegian company Freija AS plans to build a facility on a 13-hectare site that would produce e-methane using electricity and bio-based carbon dioxide. The plant would be connected to Finland’s — and through it Europe’s — natural gas network. The produced e-methane would be distributed for heavy-duty transport, replacing fossil natural gas. The plant could be operational by 2031.
Another Norwegian company that has reserved a plot in Pelkola is Norsk e-Fuel. The company aims to produce 80,000 tons of synthetic aviation fuel per year at the site. Buyers for the production have already been secured: Norwegian Airlines and Cargolux. The City of Imatra and Norsk e-Fuel have signed a reservation agreement for a 20-hectare site adjacent to Ovako’s steel plant, including an option for an additional plot of roughly the same size. The zoning amendment for the area is scheduled for completion in summer 2026.
In Teppanala, the Finnish company Nordic Nano Group will begin leasing premises in the former Laplandia Market building at the beginning of September.
“Operations are planned to start by the end of the year once the required renovation work begins in September and is completed,” says Esa Parjanen, CEO of Nordic Nano Group.
During the latter part of the year, the company will launch pilot production of non-toxic batteries and innovative solar coatings and is strengthening its production and chemistry expertise for that purpose. Recruitment of line operators is scheduled to begin in summer 2026.
The first phase will employ 20–30 people, but in the coming years, hundreds of jobs could be created.
In addition, 3Flash Solar Oy is planning two solar power plants in Linnakoski and Virasoja. The Linnakoski plant already has a building permit, but the final investment decision has not yet been made.
“The Virasoja project is progressing with zoning. Naturally, our goal is to move forward as soon as the financing negotiations are completed. In the energy sector, the new normal is that market conditions fluctuate, and we must adapt. We believe the outlook will improve and that investment decisions will follow in the coming years,” says Miko Huomo, CEO of 3Flash Solar Oy.
In a waste-heat recovery project between Imatran Lämpö Oy and Stora Enso’s Imatra Mills, heat generated in the forest industry’s processes is recovered and utilised in district heat production.
Using waste heat diversifies Imatra’s district heating supply, supports low-emission production, and helps control costs, ensuring a more stable district-heating price.
A new five-kilometre-long district-heating pipeline from Virasoja to Kaukopää was completed in November 2024. The phased commissioning of the heat-pump plant located at the mill area culminated at the end of April 2025, when the plant began feeding heat into the network.
“District heat has been produced through the new plant all summer, and for that reason, the Virasoja facility has not been used at all during June and July,” says Vesa-Pekka Vainikka, CEO of Imatran Lämpö Oy.
The new heat-pump plant replaces over half of Imatran Lämpö’s wood procurement, corresponding to roughly 1,000 truckloads of wood per year in energy value.
For the mills, the project also helps control wastewater temperature, thereby reducing environmental impact.
This article is part of the City of Imatra’s resident newsletter, published in Uutisvuoksi newspaper and on the city’s website on August 21, 2025.