EIB backs Finnish Tapojarvi to reduce carbon emissions in steel

The European Investment Bank said Aug. 20 that it has financially backed Finnish mining services specialist Tapojarvi with a Eur 18 million ($18 million) loan to reduce the environmental footprint of the steel industry.

The funds, backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments, will cover Tapojarvi’s investment in a novel slag processing and valorization plant located in Umbria, Italy, the EIB said.

Tapojarvi is a family-owned Finnish mid-cap company founded in 1955 that specializes in handling, processing and recycling services for the mining and steel industry.

The project would also include the initial testing and ramp-up phases to convert slag into valuable byproducts and reduce landfilling.

This would require the deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies compliant with industry 4.0 principles, being interconnection, decentralization, technical assistance, information transparency, as well as the introduction of innovative recycled products mainly for construction use, and the reduction in usage of raw materials, the bank said.

“Operations like the one signed with Tapojarvi are essential to support the shift toward a more circular and sustainable economy as they contribute to reducing the environmental footprint of stainless-steel plants via the recovery of valuable raw materials,” EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti said in a statement.

“Circular economy is a key instrument to fight climate change and reduce businesses’ dependency on imports from third parties,” Vigliotti said.

“The Tapojarvi project in Italy is a second-generation eco-innovative slag processing plant based on more than 15 years of experience in slag processing and productization in Finland. Tapojarvi will continue its internationalization and expand the slag processing and productization to other European countries,” Tapojarvi Italia CEO Martti Kaikkonen said.

— Filip Warwick