12.6.2025

Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Marius af Schultén and Lia Heasman recognised as Europe Green Ambassadors by Legal 500

Castrén & Snellman’s Partner Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Partner Marius af Schultén and Counsel Lia Heasman have been recognised as Europe Green Ambassadors 2025 by Legal 500.

The Green Ambassadors series, published by Legal Business, highlights private practice lawyers who champion sustainability and the green transition in their client work and beyond.

Europe Green Ambassadors places the spotlight on lawyers in major markets who demonstrate a particular green focus in their work and stand out for their wider sustainability engagement. Leading lawyers are ranked across Benelux, DACH, France, Iberia, Ireland, and the Nordics. In Finland, a total of 11 experts were recognised.

Castrén & Snellman has a long track record of groundbreaking work in supporting change in the environmental and energy sectors, and we have solid legal expertise in green transition matters, corporate sustainability and ESG.

Coordinating the ESG and corporate sustainability services at Castrén & Snellman, Anna Kuusniemi-Laine is a highly sought-after advisor among major domestic clients on the integration of ESG objectives and obligations into corporate operations, policies, and agreements.

Heading the environment, energy, and green transition team at Castrén & Snellman, Marius af Schultén is a specialist on the planning and permitting of large-scale infrastructure projects. A recognised thought leader in the energy transition, af Schultén helps advance the dialogue on how energy and environmental law can help pursue sustainability objectives.

Alongside a key focus on ESG risk identification and management, Lia Heasman brings particular knowledge on how to leverage pressing and business-critical ESG trends to create value for stakeholders, particularly within M&A processes. In this space, Heasman counts major corporates, funds, and private equity players among her clients.

For more information, please visit the Legal Business Green Ambassadors page.

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Latest references

Neste – A EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB

We advised Neste as it signed a EUR 250 million 10-year loan with NIB. The loan will finance Neste’s investments related to research and development (R&D) in processing lower-quality feedstocks into high-quality renewable products; as well as the liquefied waste plastics (LWP) investment at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland. The R&D activities supported by the loan focus on the development of renewable solutions. These include, for example, expanding feedstock capabilities and technologies that enable the processing of new and lower-quality waste and residues into high-quality renewable end products. Part of the financing supports Neste’s liquefied waste plastics investment in Porvoo, related to upgrading low-quality plastic waste into high-quality feedstock at an industrial scale. The investment contributes to advancing circular economy solutions by enabling the use of hard-to-recycle plastic waste as a replacement for virgin fossil raw materials. The unit has an annual capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of liquefied waste plastic. Production ramp-up commenced in 2026.

Aspo – Demerger and finance matters

We advised Aspo Plc, ESL Shipping Ltd and AtoBatC Shipping AB in relation to finance matters in connection with the demerger of Aspo, by which all the shares in ESL Shipping Ltd held by Aspo, together with the related assets and liabilities, will be transferred to a new independent company to be named ESL Shipping Group Plc. Aspo intends to apply for the shares of ESL Shipping Group to be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Nasdaq Helsinki. It is further intended that Aspo be renamed Telko Group Plc.

Lenders and Export Credit Agencies – EUR 514.4 million green project financing for Easpring Finland New Materials’ CAM plant

We acted as Finnish law legal adviser to the lenders and the export credit agencies in connection with the EUR 514.4 million green project financing for the development and construction of Easpring Finland New Materials Oy’s cathode active material (CAM) manufacturing plant in Kotka, Finland. The borrower, Easpring Finland New Materials Oy, is a joint venture owned by Beijing Easpring Material Technology, Finnish Minerals Group and LG Energy Solution. The financing was provided by six international commercial banks, with Société Générale acting as financial adviser and mandated lead arranger together with Natixis as co-mandated lead arranger, and DNB, ICBC, ING and Standard Chartered participating as lenders, with support from the export credit agencies Finnvera and Sinosure. The project represents a significant milestone for Finland and the European battery value chain by strengthening Europe’s domestic supply of cathode active materials, a key component in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage applications. Once the first phase of the project is operational, the Kotka facility is expected to produce approximately 60,000 tonnes of cathode active material annually, making it one of the largest CAM production plants in Europe and supplying leading battery manufacturers across Europe.

Delta Capacity – Acquisition of BESS Project

We acted as Finnish legal advisor to Delta Capacity in connection with its acquisition of the ready-to-build Karppio battery energy storage system (BESS) project from Helios Nordic Energy. The acquisition was made and the project will be implemented together with Strioga Family Foundation. The Karppio BESS project is located in Teuva, Finland, and has a capacity of 125 MW / 300 MWh. Delta Capacity will lead the remaining development of the project through to commissioning, planned for 2027, and will serve as long-term asset manager. Delta Capacity is a Swiss-based developer of utility scale battery storage systems. The acquisition adds to Delta Capacity’s growing Nordic portfolio.

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