The battery cluster planned in Finland could soon gain its first industrial-scale production facility, as Stora Enso plans to build an anode material plant, which is currently awaiting an investment decision.

With this step, battery production will transition into the era of the bioeconomy, as the majority of the anode material required for rechargeable batteries will soon be producible from wood-based raw materials.

By producing anode material for batteries, Stora Enso is embarking on an entirely new type of business. It should be noted that, in principle, production will not significantly increase wood usage, as the anode material is manufactured from by-products of the wood pulp process.

In practice, the relative value of the manufactured material may change radically. What has been the main product until now, namely cellulose fibre, could become a by-product.