Vaasan Voima

What Vaasan Voima does

Vaasan Voima Oy is a Finnish privately-held combined heat and power (CHP) producer headquartered in Vaasa, wholly owned by EPV Energia Oy. It operates the Vaskiluoto power plant — a Benson-type once-through coal-fired CHP with a 230 MW net electrical output and 175 MW district heating capacity, producing 0.9–1.7 TWh of electricity and 400–480 GWh of district heat annually and supplying more than 60% of Vaasa city's heating demand. The plant integrates the world's first biomass gasification facility (140 MW fuel capacity, supplied by Metso and commissioned 2012), which substitutes 25–40% of coal use with domestic biofuels and cuts CO2 emissions by approximately 230,000 tonnes per year. Production is complemented by Hitachi NR3 low-NOx burners, an SNCR urea-injection system, wet limestone scrubbing (>99% SO2 removal) and a 99.9%-efficiency electrostatic precipitator, with by-products (ash and gypsum) 100% utilised in earthworks and plasterboard respectively.

The platform extends beyond conventional CHP through three integrated modules. A fleet of electric boilers — currently 160 MW across one 40 MW and two 60 MW units — provides electricity-based, near-zero-emission heat and ramps 0–100% in 50 seconds; a fourth 60 MW unit for steam production is scheduled for early 2026, bringing total capacity to 220 MW. The Vaskiluoto Thermal Energy Storage (TES) facility uses 210,000 m³ of repurposed 1970s underground oil caverns (currently 11 GWh, 110 MW charge/discharge; expanding to 17 GWh and 220 MW in 2026 by raising storage temperature from 95°C to above boiling point using static water-column pressure). A proprietary algorithm-based control system optimises TES charging/discharging, electric-boiler dispatch and CHP operation against real-time electricity market prices, enabling sector coupling between the electricity grid and district heating system.

The company operates under Finland's Mankala principle — a non-profit cooperative model in which electricity and heat are supplied to shareholders at production cost price rather than market rates. Vaasan Sähkö is the district heating customer; EPV Energia Oy is the parent and primary electricity off-taker. Revenue is therefore cost-recovery plus modest by-product sales, with no profit motive or dividends. Capital expansion is materially supported by public funding: a EUR 14M Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment grant in December 2021 for a planned Power-to-X-to-Power hydrogen system (jointly with Wärtsilä, EPV Energy and Vaasan Sähkö), and EUR 5,815,240 of NextGenerationEU funding in October 2024 toward a EUR 20+ million TES expansion. The company traces its origins to a 1969 joint venture between EPV Energia and Pohjolan Voima, began operations in 1972, and was reorganised as Vaasan Voima Oy effective 1 January 2023 following a 2019 asset acquisition.

Name

Vaasan Voima

Legal name

Vaasan Voima Oy

Website

https://vaasanvoima.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

A Finnish Mankala-model combined heat and power producer operating the Vaskiluoto CHP plant (230 MW electricity, 175 MW heat), integrated with the world's first biomass gasification facility, a 160 MW (rising to 220 MW) electric-boiler fleet and a 17 GWh underground cavern thermal energy storage, supplying over 60% of Vaasa's district heating to EPV Energia and Vaasan Sähkö.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Combined Heat and Power / District Heating

NAICS

Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117), Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (221330), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Engines & Turbines (3510), Electric Services (4911), Steam & Air-Conditioning Supply (4961)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass CHP & Cogeneration Plants (Industrial & Utility) (EUAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

District Energy & Community CHP (District Heating/Cooling Networks) (EUACAKAH), District Energy Biomass Plants (Heating Networks) (EUAAAGAB)

Keywords

• Combined heat and power
• District heating supply
• Biomass gasification
• Thermal energy storage
• Electricity generation

Headquarters

HQ city

Vaasa

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Electricity and heat sales under Mankala model: Vaasan Voima produces electricity and heat for its shareholders (Mankala principle) at production cost price. Electricity sold to shareholders at cost price; shareholders pay company expenses proportional to their ownership. The Mankala model is not profit-oriented and does not distribute dividends — owners benefit by using the energy or reselling it. In Finland, more than 40% of electricity is produced under the Mankala principle.
2. District heating sales to Vaasa region: District heating covers more than 60% of the city of Vaasa's heat demand. Heat delivered to Vaasan Sähkö (the regional energy company), which optimises distribution to end customers (homes and businesses). Revenue derived from sale of thermal energy to the district heating network.
3. By-product sales (ash, gypsum): Production by-products (ash ~30,000–70,000 tonnes/year and gypsum ~5,000–10,000 tonnes/year) are 100% utilised — ash sold for earthworks/road foundations, gypsum delivered to plasterboard factories.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Core offering

Vaasan Voima produces electricity and district heating at its Vaskiluoto combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Vaasa, Finland, using coal and biomass gasification in cogeneration. The platform is extended by a 140 MW biomass gasification plant, electric boilers (160-220 MW) for power-to-heat sector coupling, and Finland's largest-volume underground thermal energy storage (210,000 m³ caverns, 11-17 GWh). The CHP plant delivers 230 MW net electricity (0.9-1.7 TWh/year) and 175 MW district heat (400-480 GWh/year), covering more than 60% of Vaasa's district heating demand. Energy is supplied to its sole shareholder EPV Energia Oy at production-cost price under the Finnish Mankala principle, with district heat delivered to Vaasan Sähkö.

Product overview

Vaasan Voima operates a single integrated energy production site at Vaskiluoto, Vaasa, made up of one core asset (the Vaskiluoto Combined Heat and Power Plant, which uses coal and domestic biomass in cogeneration) plus a coordinated set of modules around it. The platform-level CHP plant is extended by the Biomass Gasification Plant, which substitutes biomass-derived gas for coal; by the Vaskiluoto Electric Boilers, which provide electricity-based, near-zero-emission heat; and by the Vaskiluoto Thermal Energy Storage (TES), an underground cavern storage that decouples heat production from heat delivery and is optimised via algorithm-based control. The Mankala-model supply offering sits on top of these physical assets as the company's commercial vehicle, and the planned Power-to-X-to-Power hydrogen system is intended to extend the same sector-coupling logic to renewable-hydrogen storage and generation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vaskiluoto Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant Benson-type once-through coal-fired CHP plant in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa, with a three-casing district-heating extraction turbine, Low-NOx Hitachi NR3 burners with OFA, wet limestone scrubbing desulphurisation (>99% SO2 removal), electrostatic precipitator (99.9% particulate removal), and integrated 140 MW biomass gasifier. Net electrical output 230 MW, district-heating output 175 MW; annual electricity production 0.9-1.7 TWh and district-heating production 400-480 GWh, supplying more than 60% of Vaasa's district heating needs.
• Vaskiluoto Electric Boilers (Power-to-Heat) Electric-resistance heat generators at Vaskiluoto for clean, electricity-based district heating and sector coupling. Currently three boilers (1 x 40 MW + 2 x 60 MW = 160 MW), each ~6.5 m tall and 3 m in diameter with 120 °C maximum supply-water temperature and 0-100% load change in 50 seconds. A fourth 60 MW electric boiler suitable for steam production will be added in 2026, bringing total capacity to 220 MW.
• Vaskiluoto Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Underground thermal-energy storage built from repurposed 1970s oil caverns at Vaskiluoto (210,000 m³ total, 30 m below ground). Commissioned 2020 at ~7 GWh / 100 MW; expanded to 11 GWh / 110 MW in 2023; being upgraded 2024-2026 to 17 GWh and 220 MW charge/discharge by raising temperature from 95 °C to above boiling using water-column static pressure, with a buffer tank added. Used as a sector-coupling optimisation tool within EPV Energy's portfolio and provides 4-20 days of district heating depending on discharge rate.
• Vaskiluoto Biomass Gasification Plant World's first biomass gasification plant, with a 140 MW bio-gasifier and forest-chip dryer integrated with the VL2 boiler. Replaces 25-40% of coal use with gas from domestic woody biomass and energy peat, cuts the plant's CO2 emissions by about 230,000 t/year and allows the CHP to run without coal at low load. Technology supplied by Metso.
• Power-to-X-to-Power Hydrogen System (planned) Planned renewable-hydrogen-based electricity storage and generation solution at the Vaskiluoto site, being developed jointly by EPV Energy, Vaasan Sähkö and Wärtsilä. Granted more than EUR 14 million of Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment investment aid in December 2021. Designed to pilot a hydrogen-based energy generation solution for the global export market.
• Mankala-Model Electricity and Heat Supply Wholesale supply of electricity and heat to shareholder-owners at production-cost price under the Finnish Mankala principle. In Finland, more than 40% of electricity is produced under this model; Vaasan Voima uses it to pool shareholder resources, share risk and operate large CHP assets cost-competitively. Shareholders pay company expenses proportional to their ownership and benefit by using the energy or reselling it; the model is not profit-oriented and does not distribute dividends.

Quantifiable outcome

• District heating covers more than 60% of Vaasa city's heat demand
• +13 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / parent company, historical co-founder, flagship customer / co-developer, strategic innovation partner, major technology supplier, equipment supplier, external audit partner, operational partner and industry scheme participant.

• EPV Energia Oyflagship / parent companyStrategic or Co-development PartnerVaasan Voima Oy is 100% owned by EPV Energia Oy. EPV is the parent company and sole shareholder. Vaasan Voima operates under the Mankala principle, supplying electricity and heat to EPV at cost price. The thermal energy storage cavern at Vaskiluoto is explicitly used as an optimisation tool within EPV's energy production portfolio. The 2024-2025 TES expansion is an EPV group-level strategic investment.
• Pohjolan Voima Oyhistorical co-founderStrategic or Co-development PartnerPohjolan Voima Oy co-founded Vaskiluodon Voima Oy (predecessor of Vaasan Voima) together with EPV Energia Oy in the late 1960s, with equal shares, to build the Vaskiluoto power plant producing both electricity and heat. The plant was completed in 1972.
• Vaasan Sähköflagship customer / co-developerStrategic or Co-development PartnerVaasan Sähkö is Vaasan Voima's district heating customer (and co-investor in the Power-to-X-to-Power hydrogen project with Wärtsilä and EPV). The 2024-2025 TES expansion will allow Vaasan Sähkö to better optimise its heat demand and enables both EPV and Vaasan Sähkö to further reduce emissions in energy production.
• Wärtsilästrategic innovation partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partner with EPV Energy and Vaasan Sähkö in the planned Power-to-X-to-Power system at the Vaskiluoto power plant — a renewable hydrogen-based electricity storage and production solution that received EUR 14+ million investment aid from the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in December 2021. The system enables a new way of storing renewable energy and pilots a hydrogen-based energy production solution suitable for the global export market.
• Metsomajor technology supplierTechnology or IntegrationMetso delivered the world's largest biomass gasification plant (140 MW fuel capacity) for the Vaskiluoto power plant — installation completed in 2012 and inaugurated 11.3.2013. Contract awarded by Vaskiluodon Voima. Metso also delivered the Seinäjoki power plant automation upgrade in 2013.
• Hitachiequipment supplierTechnology or IntegrationHitachi supplies the latest-generation NR3 burners used at the Vaasa power plant — reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by approximately 30%.
• DNVexternal audit partnerImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDNV is the independent external auditor conducting the periodic and recertification audits of the Vaskiluoto power plant's ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system and ETJ+ energy efficiency system. Performed the 2-3 March 2026 audit (score 4/5) and the late March 2025 audit (perfect score 5/5).
• Westenergyoperational partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestenergy's waste incineration plant provided the excess heat energy used for the initial charging (alkulataus) of the Vaskiluoto thermal energy storage facility during summer 2020 commissioning. Joint recipient of the 2012 Climate Action of the Year award with Vaasan Voima and Vaasan Sähkö.
• Energiateollisuus / Finnish Energy (Energy Efficiency Agreement scheme)industry scheme participantOthersVaasan Voima participates in the ETJ+ Energy Efficiency System certified by Energiateollisuus (Finnish Energy). The power plant has a voluntary Energy Efficiency Agreement and joined the 2026–2035 Energy Efficiency Agreement. Joint signatories include Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Ministry of the Environment, Energy Authority, Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), and industry associations.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fortum Oyj: Major Nordic energy company with substantial CHP, district heating and biomass operations in Finland and the Nordics. Operates comparable large-scale combined heat and power assets and is a relevant peer for asset class and decarbonisation roadmap, though vastly larger and more diversified.
• Vantaan Energia Oy: Vantaa-based energy utility operating the Martinlaakso and Jätevoimala waste-to-energy CHP plants plus district heating. Comparable Finnish urban CHP-plus-district-heating model with significant biomass / waste fuel share.
• Tampereen Energia: Tampere region's energy utility operating CHP and district heating with biomass and waste-derived fuels. Comparable district heating franchise and decarbonisation pathway using multi-fuel CHP plus electric heating / storage initiatives.
• Helen Oy: Helsinki's municipal energy company operating large-scale CHP and district heating (Hanasaari, Salmisaari, Vuosaari), with growing biomass, electric boiler and seasonal thermal storage investments. Directly comparable CHP-plus-district-heating-plus-sector-coupling business model, though at much larger scale and serving the Helsinki metro.

Others

• Wärtsilä: Strategic innovation partner in the planned Power-to-X-to-Power hydrogen-based electricity storage and generation solution at Vaskiluoto (EUR 14M+ investment aid, 2021). Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem participant developing hydrogen-based balancing solutions for the same sector-coupling problem Vaasan Voima is addressing.
• Metso: Technology supplier that delivered the 140 MW biomass gasification plant at Vaskiluoto in 2012. Relevant as the enabling-technology provider for Vaasan Voima's signature biomass-gasification asset; a peer for the underlying technology rather than the utility business itself.

Regional players

• Turku Energia: Regional Finnish energy utility operating CHP and district heating for the Turku area. Similar district-heating-dominated business with biomass co-firing and electrification investments.
• Lahti Energia Oy: Regional energy utility serving Lahti with CHP, district heating and biomass-based generation. Same Finnish CHP-and-district-heating template, smaller scale than Helen or Tampereen Energia.

Direct peers

• Pohjolan Voima Oy: Co-founded Vaskiluodon Voima Oy with EPV Energia in 1969 to build the Vaskiluoto CHP plant. A major Finnish Mankala-model energy company producing electricity and heat across multiple power plants; the same operating model and CHP/multi-fuel asset profile as Vaasan Voima.
• EPV Energia Oy: Parent company and sole shareholder of Vaasan Voima. EPV Energia is a Finnish energy group operating the Vaskiluoto power plant through its Mankala-model subsidiary; it also owns the Seinäjoki plant divested by Vaskiluodon Voima in 2018. Highly comparable in asset type (CHP, biomass, district heating) and governance model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vaasan Voima