Outokumpu Oyj
Stock Exchange Release June 6, 2007 at 8.00 am
A consortium of industrial and energy companies announced today a project aiming at constructing a new nuclear power plant in Finland. The group consists of Outokumpu, Boliden, Rauman Energia, Kattern� and E.ON. To implement the project, a new Finnish power company Fennovoima Oy will be established.
Fennovoima aims to construct a new 1 000 - 1 800 MW nuclear power plant for the increasing need for electricity in Finland. The operation of the plant is aimed to start between 2016 and 2018. Fennovoima will produce electricity for its owners' needs at production cost. Each owner will get the share of capacity proportional to its ownership in the company. One-third of the capacity is reserved for Finnish enterprises of industry, merchandise and services, one-third for regional and local energy companies, and one-third for E.ON Suomi.
Approximately half of the capacity will be offered to companies other than the existing Fennovoima partners. Many Finnish enterprises have already shown their interest in acquiring own nuclear power generation capacity. The consortium has started discussions with companies needing long-term procurement of stable-priced power for their own production and customers in Finland.
Energy is a major cost factor in producing stainless steel. In Outokumpu's case this is even more so as the Group has its own ferrochrome smelter as part of the integrated stainless steel production operation in Tornio, Finland. Although having ferrochrome production integrated into stainless steel production is already a cost advantage, that coupled with reliable stable-priced electricity supply in the future will be an additional competitive advantage. Outokumpu's Tornio Works currently consumes some 2.1TWh of electricity per annum.
Says Outokumpu's CEO Juha Rantanen; "By participating in Fennovoima, Outokumpu aims to secure a significant portion of its electricity needs in the years to come. In investing in our own energy production we can have a reliable electricity supply at production cost. Our aim is to have up to 150MW of the new nuclear power plant's capacity. This translates into some 1.2TWh of electrical energy per annum which is more than half of what the Tornio Works currently requires."
For further details on Fennovoima and the planned new nuclear power plant project, please see the attached Press Announcement released by the Fennovoima Consortium.
For further information, please contact:
Mikko Rintam�ki, VP - Energy, Outokumpu Oyj, mobile: +358 40 558 2289
Eero Mustala, SVP - Corporate Communications, Outokumpu Oyj, mobile: +358 40 504 5146
OUTOKUMPU OYJ
Corporate Management
Eero Mustala
ATTACHMENT: Fennovoima Press Release and invitation to Press Conference
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FENNOVOIMA INVITATION AND PRESS RELEASE
June 6, 2007 at 8:00 am
INVITATION TO A PRESS CONFERENCE ON JUNE 6, 2007 AT 11:00 AM
A press conference on Fennovoima will be held on Wednesday, June 6, 2007 at 11:00 am at Hotel Marski, Conference Room Carl, Mannerheimintie 10, Helsinki.
FENNOVOIMA TO CONSTRUCT A NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN FINLAND
A consortium of industrial and energy companies announced today a project aiming at constructing a new nuclear power plant in Finland. The group consists of Outokumpu, Boliden, Rauman Energia, Kattern� and E.ON. To implement the project, a new Finnish power company Fennovoima Oy will be established.
Fennovoima aims to construct a new 1,000-1,800 MW nuclear power plant for the increasing need for electricity in Finland. The operation of the plant is aimed to start between 2016 and 2018. Fennovoima will produce electricity for its owners' needs at production cost. Each owner will get the share of capacity proportional to its ownership in the company.. One-third of the capacity is reserved for Finnish enterprises of industry, merchandise and services, one-third for regional and local energy companies, and one-third for E.ON Suomi.
Approximately half of the capacity will be offered to companies other than the existing Fennovoima partners. Many Finnish enterprises have already shown their interest in acquiring own nuclear power generation capacity. The consortium has started discussions with companies needing long-term procurement of stable-priced power for their own production and customers in Finland.
- The power generation of Fennovoima is important both for participating companies and Finland. The new nuclear power plant will expand CO2-free power generation in Finland and at the same time decrease dependence on electricity imports. In addition, competition in power production will increase, which is good for all users of electricity and the entire national economy, stated Juha Rantanen, CEO of Outokumpu.
Fennovoima will immediately start studies on the construction of the new nuclear power plant. Apart from the site, these include safety, technological, and nuclear waste management issues. Suitable site locations are identified in various parts of Finland. After suitable sites have - together with the respective municipalities - been guaranteed, Fennovoima will complete the Environmental Impact Assessments. In these studies Fennovoima will utilize the extensive experience of E.ON, the second largest nuclear power generator in Europe.
The demand for electricity in Finland will increase annually by 1 to 2 percent. In addition, old coal and oil-fired power plants will - because of environmental reasons - be taken out of use. At the same time, there has been a common desire to decrease the dependency on power imports. According to estimates, there will be a need for at least 4,000 MW of new base-load generation capacity by 2020 in Finland.
Fighting against the negative impacts of climate change is a fundamental task of our time. Along with enhanced energy conservation and the increased use of renewable energy sources, carbon dioxide free nuclear energy is also needed.
+++
Further information:
Fennovoima, Project Director Mikko Rintam�ki, phone +358 40 558 2289
Outokumpu Oyj, SVP - Corporate Communications Eero Mustala, phone +358 40 504 5146
Boliden AB, Deputy CEO Tom Niemi, phone +358 400 264 582
Rauman Energia Oy, Managing Director Tapio Saarenp��, phone +358 50 568 1445
Oy Kattern� Ab, Managing Director Stefan Storholm, phone +358 44 781 5330
E.ON Suomi Oy, Managing Director Matti Manninen, phone +358 50 314 1520
Outokumpu is an international stainless steel company. Outokumpu operates in some 30 countries and employs more than 8,000 people. In 2006, the Group's sales were EUR 6.2 billion. The Group's headquarters is located in Espoo, Finland. www.outokumpu.com.
Boliden is one of the leading mining and smelting companies in Europe with operations in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland and the
Netherlands. Boliden's main products are copper, zinc, lead, gold, and silver. Boliden employs approximately 4,500 people with a turnover of approximately EUR 3.8 billion annually. In Finland Boliden's zinc operations are located in Kokkola and copper operations in Harjavalta near to Pori. The Group's headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden. www.boliden.com
Rauman Energia is a middle-size and city-owned energy utility. Its main products are electricity, district heat and related services. The company produces and distributes electricity and heat to its customers in the Satakunta province and sells electricity to customers all over Finland. The company's operations are located in Rauma, Finland. www.raumanenergia.fi
Kattern� Group is a middle-size and municipality-owned energy utility. The operative area covers coastal parts of the Ostrobotnia region. The Group produces and distributes electricity and produces and distributes district heat in the region. It sells heat in the own region and electricity all over Finland. The Group's headquarters is located in Pietarsaari, Finland.
www.katterno.fi
E.ON Suomi offers electricity to customers throughout Finland. The E.ON Group is one of the world's largest investor-owned energy service providers with 2006 sales of just under EUR 68 billion. E.ON focuses on its core power and gas business in these target markets: Central Europe, the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, and the Midwestern United States. Headquarters are located in D�sseldorf, Germany.
www.eon.fi