Business Finland organises gatherings for leading companies a couple of times a year. This time, Borealis and Neste acted as hosts for the event. The event took place on 25 March 2025 at Neste main office in Kilpilahti. The event at the refinery brought together around 35 participants.
As the event was held in Kilpilahti, the focus was chosen to be on carbon, hydrogen and hydrocarbons. The morning programme included a separate discussion on this theme. The session was kicked off by Markku Pirnes from Neste, Jaakko Tuomainen from Borealis and Elina Mäki from Gasgrid. Following this, there were reflections from the audience and information about ABB’s new H2 springboard programme shared by Simo Säynevirta. Simo also told the participants about the establishment of a new Hydrogen Cluster Association, which was founded that same morning at a separate meeting.
After a networking lunch, the event continued with current matters from Business Finland, including missions and the circular economy green deal (“kiertotalouden green deal – KGD”).
New leading companies also introduced themselves, namely:
- LEAD industrial metaverse led by Nokia
- H2 springboard by ABB
- Futureproof by Nokian Tyres.
The discussions continued about the Kilpilahti ecosystem, its strengths and the importance of extensive integration and utilisation of side streams. Considering the expertise, goals and current facilities of Neste and Borealis, Kilpilahti’s national strengths lie in the chemical recycling of plastic waste, bio-based hydrocarbons and the utilisation of captured carbon dioxide. New business ventures have emerged and are planned around these themes in Kilpilahti. One example of new ventures being planned includes Lamor’s pyrolysis plant for plastic waste.
For many participants, the highlight of the day was the opportunity to see Kilpilahti’s production facilities firsthand. The bus tour of Neste and Borealis’s production areas included many stories about Kilpilahti’s history. The guides were Petri Lehmus, Neste VP R&D, Toni Sundström, Borealis CI Manager and Jaakko Tuomainen. Event participants left Kilpilahti visibly pleased with the day’s programme.