Potassium sulphate (SOP) producer Cinis Fertilizer has revised the schedule for the ramp-up of its second production facility in Sweden.

Cinis Fertilizer has received a delivery delay notice of sodium sulphate, a raw material for its SOP production, from the electric vehicle battery producer Northvolt.

“Cinis Fertilizer makes the assessment that the missed sodium sulfate deliveries from Northvolt will result in additional costs of approximately SEK 25 million [USD 2.4 million] for 2024. The increased costs for sodium sulfate in combination with the somewhat slower fine-tuning of the company’s production facility means that the target of an EBITDA margin exceeding 25 percent will not be achieved in 2024,” the company said in a statement.

Cinis Fertilizer said it will have to obtain most of the sodium sulphate for its Örnsköldsvik facility from suppliers other than Northvolt also in 2025 and 2026.

“As sodium sulfate is traded in large volumes globally and is found as a residual product in several industries, the company sees no risk of being left without inputs, but instead the work is about securing as large a proportion of residual streams as possible and sodium sulfate at the best possible price,” the statement continued.

Cinis Fertilizer started production at its first facility in May this year. The first site is close to Örnsköldsvik in Sweden and has a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year SOP. The company is planning to open a second site in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, USA, with SOP production slated for 2025.

Cinis Fertilizer was scheduling to open a second in Sweden, in Skellefteå, which is some 200km north of Örnsköldsvik. This would be the third production facility for Cinis Fertilizers and have an SOP capacity of 200,000 t/y. The location is close to the Northvolt electric car battery factory in Skellefteå.

“Cinis Fertilizer makes the assessment that the start of production for the planned production facility in Skellefteå will be delayed by approximately an additional two years, until 2028.”

Further reading:
New AG International travelled to northern Sweden and attended the inauguration ceremony. Read our exclusive story here.