Temporary suspension of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) programme for the planned CO₂ transshipment terminal in Klaipėda
On 8 April, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) programme for the planned carbon dioxide (CO₂) transshipment terminal at the KN Energies site in Klaipėda, published by the Environmental Protection Agency, was temporarily suspended. The decision to suspend and review the EIA programme was taken by KN Energies itself.
The company intends to re-evaluate the proposed solutions for the terminal’s planned economic activity and, once this is completed, to resume the review of the EIA programme. It is expected that this will ensure a more comprehensive EIA analysis. Information about the revised EIA programme will be provided in accordance with the procedures laid down by legislation.
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Originally published on 17 Apr
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Construction has been completed at Valmiera Industrial Park, which is an infrastructure of national importance – a railway siding and internal railway, a cargo loading/unloading (logistics) site, and an industrial electricity connection have been put into operation. The rest of the infrastructure intended for exporting manufacturing companies operating in smart specialization (RIS3) sectors, creating products with high added value, has also been completed. The newly built railway infrastructure will strengthen the role of Valmiera region in the European transport network, consolidating its position as an important connection point between regions and the Baltic States.
Valmiera Industrial Park, operating as Latvia’s first domestic multimodal logistics center, will promote economic growth and export capacity in Vidzeme. This will be a significant stage of development and change in the transport and storage sector, as companies in Vidzeme and South Estonia will be able to optimize their supply chains while reducing transport costs and emissions, as well as the load on roads. The potential of the new and competitive railway infrastructure and the extensive concrete logistics area has also been dubbed Latvia’s first “dry port” (i.e., inland intermodal terminals directly connected to seaports by road or rail).
“Targeted investment in business development is always necessary to promote growth and maintain competitiveness. The development of the Valmiera Industrial Park has been purposefully planned since 2014, implementing this idea gradually and thoughtfully to ensure maximum return on invested resources in the long term. It is planned that at least three export-oriented companies will start operating in the area to be developed under the project, creating new jobs and making significant investments in business. These are historically the largest investments in the development of the Valmiera region, which will make a significant contribution to both the region’s economy and the well-being of its residents. At the same time, in parallel with the development of business infrastructure in the municipality, we continue to invest in affordable housing and competitive education to ensure a timely supply of qualified specialists to the labor market,” says Jānis Baiks, Chairman of the Valmiera Municipality Council.
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Originally published on 17 Dec
Estonia is no stranger to frontier AI projects, already using the most modern tools in the education system and producing an impressive array of AI-first startups and scale-ups. Now, there’s more on this front, as Estonia has signed a cooperation agreement with Nokia to participate in a Nordic consortium developing sovereign AI infrastructure across the region, Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta announced today in Oulu, Finland.
The project currently includes Estonia, Finland, and Latvia, with ongoing negotiations to bring Sweden and Denmark on board. The initiative responds to the European Commission’s program supporting the development of European sovereign AI infrastructure—specifically, AI gigafactories—designed to reduce dependence on third-party computing resources.
For Estonia, the agreement means establishing an AI-ready data centre on its territory that would integrate with both existing Estonian and broader regional infrastructure. The facility would provide essential computing capacity to the public sector, research institutions, and private enterprises.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
Eight financial technology companies from the Nordic countries have been admitted to the international payment technology company Visa’s European innovation programme, VIPE. Among them is Latvia’s Beneflo, which is developing an employee support solutions platform that simplifies the international allocation of various bonuses and benefits to employees using a Visa card and app.
In addition to Beneflo, the programme has also admitted Enable Banking from Finland, Kardio from Iceland, Juuli from Estonia, Ledyer and Betalo from Sweden, Beep from Italy, and Myver from Denmark.
The VIPE Baltic and Nordic programme is a pilot project–focused collaboration platform that aims to accelerate digital innovation in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark. During the six-month programme, the startups involved will have the opportunity to develop their business ideas and innovations, implement pilot projects, build partnerships, and engage in networking activities with Visa partners worldwide.
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Originally published on 18 Dec
AtoB@C Shipping, a subsidiary of ESL Shipping, is pleased to announce the successful delivery of Fleximar, the ninth vessel in its Green Coaster series, on December 18.
The Green Coaster series represents a new generation of energy-efficient vessels designed to meet the highest standards of operational performance and environmental responsibility. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, Fleximar will contribute to substantial reductions in emissions and fuel consumption, supporting AtoB@C Shipping’s strategic objective of achieving a modern, low-emission fleet.
“Fleximar and the entire Green Coaster series bring exceptional versatility to our fleet. These vessels can transport a wide range of cargoes from bulk commodities and steel products to large project cargo such as wind turbine components. With their ice class 1A, we can ensure year-round reliability and deliver low-emission solutions to our customers across the Baltic and North Sea,” says Frida Rowland, Director, Business Unit Coasters.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
The new energy group EPSO-G has announced a selection process for board members of its subsidiary Energy cells. Candidates are invited to submit their applications by January 30, 2026.
Three board members will be selected: an independent board member with expertise in financial management and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a board member nominated by EPSO-G, responsible for strategic planning and management, and a board member who is a civil servant, responsible for state aid and national security issues.
Energy Cells plays an important role in ensuring the security and resilience of the Lithuanian energy system by providing the system with the necessary isolated working reserve service. In order to consistently implement the strategic goals of the company and the entire EPSO-G group, we seek to attract professionals of the highest competence to the board,” says Mindaugas Keizeris, head of EPSO-G.
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Originally published on 18 Dec
RWE has signed an agreement with PGE for the sale of its F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind development project in the Polish Baltic Sea. The wind farm has a planned capacity of 350 megawatts and will be located approximately 50 kilometres from shore, north of the Polish town of Ustka. The transaction is expected to be closed in the first quarter of 2026. The parties already completed the transfer of an Environmental Decision and related data for the adjacent wind development site 44.E.1. to PGE.
RWE remains fully committed to further support the Polish energy transition by developing, constructing and operating a diverse pipeline of renewable energy projects across Poland. Today, the company already operates onshore wind and solar farms with a combined capacity of more than 660 megawatts in the country.
Sven Utermöhlen, Chief Executive Officer RWE Offshore Wind: “We are convinced that, in synergy with their other portfolio, PGE is better positioned to realise this project than RWE would be on a standalone basis. However, our target to further grow our offshore wind portfolio remains unchanged. We are currently building four large-scale offshore wind farms in four European countries and have several further offshore projects under development.”
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Originally published on 18 Dec
Latvian tech company Datakom and its specialised artificial intelligence division, AI Datacenter Engineers, have created the first private high-performance supercomputer cluster designed to run and train artificial intelligence models. This step marks a new era in the region’s technological independence, offering companies and public institutions the opportunity to develop AI solutions in a secure environment right here in Latvia.
Datakom’s supercomputer cluster consists of a combination of two systems, capable of reaching a performance of two petaflops. In other words, the system is capable of performing two quadrillion calculations per second. With such capacity, it can, for example, run AI-based video processing and analysis systems, host a local AI chatbot using models with 400 billion parameters, or be used as a local software development and analysis assistant.
“This is a real, full-fledged supercomputer that is now available to any company in the Baltics. Compared to Apple’s currently most powerful Studio computer, which has 100 CPU cores, this supercomputer has 12.3 thousand computing cores connected via an exceptionally fast data-transfer network, thus enabling near real-time operation between processors,” says Datakom’s Head of Business Development, Edijs Tanons. He notes that not so long ago—back in 2020—such performance was available only to the world’s wealthiest companies, which could afford to use one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. Today, technological progress makes it possible to democratise this enormous computing power, including by making it available in Latvia.
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Originally published on 18 Dec
The project will support Tallinn Airport’s long-term development by increasing capacity, improving the passenger experience, and enhancing operational efficiency. By strengthening international air connectivity, the expansion will contribute to the growth of Estonia’s business and tourism sectors.
In 2024, Tallinn Airport served 3.5 million passengers, exceeding its current design capacity of 3 million. To respond to rising demand, the expansion will increase annual capacity to up to 5.5 million passengers, ensuring the airport can continue to operate efficiently and comfortably as traffic grows.
“We highly value our long-standing relationship with NIB, whose support has been instrumental in advancing essential infrastructure across the Nordic–Baltic region. Their confidence in our development plans is an important recognition of the work we are doing to ensure Tallinn Airport can grow sustainably and continue serving passengers at the highest level,” said Anneli Turkin, CFO of Tallinn Airport.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting Lithuania’s green transition and capital market innovation with a €50 million landmark investment in the country’s first green asset backed securitisation, originated by ILTE, Lithuania’s national development bank, as part of a €112 million issuance.
This pioneering transaction is the first true sale green securitisation in the Baltic states, setting a new benchmark for sustainable finance. Backed by ILTE’s portfolio of performing energy-efficiency loans, the notes have achieved a AAA rating from two leading international agencies and have been listed on the Nasdaq Vilnius exchange.
By transforming energy-efficiency loans into investable securities, the transaction introduces innovative market-based instruments and shows the strength of Lithuania’s recently reformed securitisation framework. It also creates a replicable model for attracting long-term institutional capital, boosting investor confidence and accelerating the development of the region’s capital markets.
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Originally published on 19 Dec
With the conclusion of its third edition, GameTech has firmly established itself as a cornerstone of Lithuania’s video game ecosystem, marking a significant milestone in the country’s strategy to position games as a high-impact creative and technological industry.
Since its launch, GameTech, an initiative led by the Lithuanian government together with Startup Lithuania and powered by GameBCN, has acted as a catalyst for emerging and growing game studios, combining acceleration, international expertise, and ecosystem building. Across its three editions, the program has demonstrated both scale and depth in its impact. Over the course of the program’s history, more than 250 teams applied, reflecting the strong demand for specialized support in the gaming sector. From these, 32 teams were selected to participate, representing a diverse range of studios at different stages of development, from early concepts to companies preparing for global scale-up.
GameTech has delivered over 1,000 hours of mentoring and training, provided by an international network of industry experts covering game production, business development, publishing, monetization, and investment readiness. This intensive support has been complemented by 24 public events, including masterclasses, open days, demo days, and play-testing sessions, designed not only to accelerate teams but also to strengthen the broader Lithuanian gaming community and its visibility.
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Originally published on 19 Dec