Located about 130 kilometers east of Helsinki, Finland, the construction of a new battery material factory in Kotka has not proceeded as planned. To complete the project, local authorities have begun hiring a large number of Chinese workers. According to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, the Finnish immigration authorities have reviewed more than 150 applications for work-related residence permits from Chinese workers.

Kotka is currently building a cathode active material (CAM) factory. The factory's designed capacity is 60,000 tons per year, with space reserved for future expansion. This project is being advanced by Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, a company established in 2024. The equity structure of this joint venture is: Beijing Yisiyuan Material Technology Co., Ltd., a listed company on China's ChiNext board, holds 70%, and Finnish Mining Group Ltd. holds 30%.

Construction site

The factory started construction at the beginning of summer 2025 and will become an important part of Finland's and Europe's battery value chain. After the first phase of the project comes online, it will directly create about 270 jobs. Finland hopes to steadily advance the construction of the battery value chain. The CAM factory in Kotka and the planned pCAM factory in Hamina will form one of the largest battery material clusters in Europe.

According to EU and Finnish regulations, such factories must prioritize using EU construction workers. There will be up to 800 people working at the battery factory construction site. Previously, only around 40 Chinese workers were present. In October last year, the Finnish immigration authorities rejected dozens of work residence permit applications from China, citing the reason that "Chinese workers should not take away European jobs."

Report from German magazine Focus

However, due to the lack of technical experience among EU workers in constructing such complex factories, the construction is proceeding at a "European pace," which could even significantly affect the original completion schedule.

To address this, the Finnish factory had to reapply for work residence permits for Chinese workers. It is reported that the company submitted 155 applications for work-based residence permits from China, and the immigration authority has approved most of them so far.

It is said that these Chinese employees mainly serve as project managers or site supervisors. Chinese experts are also participating in training courses there to meet the requirements of the Finnish construction site.

Slow progress at the construction site

Vesa Koivisto, the business director of Easpring Finland, said that it was almost impossible to accurately estimate the number of foreign experts and professionals before the project started. However, "I can confirm that Chinese workers did not participate in the construction of the production facilities. They mainly worked on project management and supervision."

The general contractor, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), also stated that the demand for Chinese labor has changed as the project progresses.

"It has proven that locals lack experience in setting up cathode active material production lines," CHEC explained to Finnish radio station Yle. Due to the tight schedule, technical expertise had to be imported from China.

To take care of the Chinese construction workers, CHEC rented a hotel near the Kotka construction site. The hotel has about 70 rooms, accommodating approximately 300 people. Kotka also currently has a Chinese restaurant for the construction workers' lunch.

Hotel where the workers are staying

According to recent analyses by institutions such as ETLA Economic Research, Finland is currently facing serious skill shortages, especially in the technology sector. Industry associations estimate that about 140,000 new technical workers are needed.

Germany also faces a shortage of skilled workers. According to the STEM report published by the German Institute for Economic Research (IW), by the end of 2025, the German technology sector will be short of about 148,500 skilled workers, including skilled workers, scholars, and technicians.

With its reputation as a "construction giant," Chinese construction workers have already gained widespread recognition globally. Political scientist Daniel Malvezzic wrote in his book "The Post-Western World" that China's cement consumption between 2011 and 2013 exceeded 50% of the total for the entire 20th century in the United States. Another political scientist, Milan Babic, mentioned that China's solar power installation capacity in 2023 exceeded the historical total of the United States.

Now, many European media outlets like to compare the "snail speed" of European construction with the "Chinese speed." Many companies in Europe have also begun implementing a "Chinese speed" strategy. Introducing high-level Chinese construction workers into the Finnish factory construction is a pragmatic approach.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7606335380027114003/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.