Wärtsilä expands Vaasa production hub

The expansion will increase Wärtsilä’s production capacity by around 35% strengthening its ability to meet rising demand in both the energy and marine markets.

“Global demand for reliable power is rising sharply as industries electrify, climate warming is driving needs for cooling and data centres scale at unprecedented speed,” said Wärtsilä president and chief executive, Håkan Agnevall.

He added that ageing power infrastructure, increasing renewable penetration and evolving marine regulations are all accelerating demand for Wärtsilä’s flexible engine technologies and fuel-efficient marine solutions.

The new production capacity will be installed as part of the broader STH facility expansion announced in April 2025. Commissioning of the additional capacity is planned for the first quarter of 2028.

Opened in 2022, the STH currently covers 90,000 square metres and employs more than 2,000 workers. It serves as Wärtsilä’s main engine manufacturing site, producing all engine types in the company’s portfolio and includes training facilities and a global remote monitoring centre. The site also functions as a collaboration hub, hosting around 1,000 visitors each month from across industry, academia and government.

Since announcing plans for the hub in 2018, Wärtsilä has invested more than €400 million in STH. The company is currently expanding the site with additional office space to co-locate all 3,800 Vaasa-based employees by the first half of 2026, alongside a separate €50 million investment to expand R&D testing capabilities.

The Vaasa hub is a cornerstone of Wärtsilä’s ambition to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2030. Designed for energy self-sufficiency, the facility generates its own electricity and heat, returning surplus power to the grid and reusing waste heat through thermal energy storage.