Excellent location for biomass refinining

Mikkeli is a leader in the utilisation of forest biomass for energy. The city-owned energy utility Etelä-Savon Energia Oy has been a pioneer in the large-scale utilisation of forest fuels in Finland. The strong regional bioenergy cluster includes companies, research institutes and other development organisations related to bioenergy.

Mikkeli offers numerous business opportunities in terms of biomass refining:

• Mikkeli Region has vast and sustainably managed forest biomass resources
• Mikkeli Region has an existing raw market for forest biomass with a good logistics infrastructure for raw material sourcing
• The City of Mikkeli is actively developing suitable industrial sites for the biomass refining industry (ongoing zoning processes)
• The city-owned energy utility offers collaboration opportunities in the supply of heat, power and raw materials
• Mikkeli offers state-of-the-art wastewater processing capacity – the city-owned water utility’s new wastewater processing plant will be taken into operation in 2019
• Biomass refining R&D networks include Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences and Lappeenranta University of Technology (labs in Mikkeli)
• Miksei offers support and expertise for project development: we have actively promoted biomass refining technologies and business opportunities for several years (ERDF funding available)

Growth centre for green industry - EcoSairila

EcoSairila is one of the spearhead projects in Mikkeli and aims to create a unique growth centre for green industry. EcoSairila will provide a platform to develop and pilot new techniques and concepts for the circular economy.

The new wastewater treatment plant and a biogas plant in connection with the waste management centre will create further opportunities, including the combination of sludges, biowaste and other biomasses for further refining, the optimisation of value chains from waste to energy, biogas fuels and other products, recycling of nutrients, and so on. One of the objectives is to take process management and environmental safety to a new level by means of smart measurements, monitoring and information management. The system will help both industry and authorities ensure environmental safety in the area.

EcoSairila is located seven kilometres from the centre of Mikkeli. EcoSairila comprises the Metsäsairila waste treatment plant and over 500 hectares of new area.

Data centres and digibusiness

The City of Mikkeli is home to numerous educational institutions and is recognised in Finland as a centre for research and education in the field of digital and traditional archives. The city houses the offices of the National Archive Services of Finland and the National Library of Finland. Research is also being carried out at Digitalia, the Centre for Digital Information Management and Research.

Mikkeli offers excellent opportunities for data centre businesses thanks to our stable social conditions, the highest level of intellectual property laws and data security, secured electricity connections with two independent supply lines, one of the shortest distances between Europe and Asia, and an excellent location within the Eastern Finland fibre optic cable network. Industrial properties are also available to enable both air cooling and fresh water cooling solutions. Tailored academic-level educational programmes are also available.

We are constantly looking for project partnerships and investors for projects in the field of digitisation.