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Battery Region invites all interested parties to the event for cross-border exchange of experience and dissemination of regional information. The project has examined the need for know-how and training provision in the battery value chain in Northern Sweden and Northern Finland. Finland's results can already be viewed on the project pages of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia's website. At the event, other projects and companies with the contact surface of the battery value chain on both sides of the border will tell about their work and results. Come and listen to our conclusions and exchange experiences with others on site in Skellefteå or remotely. More information about the project and the event: www.batteryregion.eu.

The organisation work carried out in the region is highlighted with the annual award for organisations in Northern Ostrobothnia. This year's theme was the provincial advisory board for organisations, which chose the experience of inclusion. In other words, the search for an organizational act has strengthened the well-being and sense of participation of the target group. “This is the fourth time the prize has been awarded. Through it, an organisation or association can bring its own activities to wider awareness. We hope for a large number of diverse proposals", says Ilpo Tapaninen, Head of Strategy at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The nomination of candidates will be opened at the beginning of September. The winner of the prize is selected by the regional government and the prize is awarded at the regional parliament in November. The prize is 1,000 euros. Further information: Association award and the activities of the Association Advisory Board (Website of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia) Esa Aunola, Chairman of the Association Advisory Board / North Ostrobothnia Villages Association / tel. +358 40 551 3986, esa.aunola@ppkylat.fi…

“Culture is part of the good life of the people of North Ostrobothnia. It is a central part of the activities of the county, its municipalities and communities, as well as the enchantment and vitality of the region. Culture is a resource for development. This is the main message of the recently published Northern Ostrobothnia Culture Development Programme 2022-2030. North Ostrobothnia wants to be a ten-stream cultural region that resembles its regions, where people are rooted and want to settle down elsewhere. In the region, culture is at the heart of people as well as at the heart of development work. The enchantment offered by culture, business opportunities and versatile resources for solving various societal challenges can be utilized effectively. It requires an appreciation of culture and an understanding of impact. Culture needs to be discussed and discussed. Cultural activities must have resources that are broadly effective. "Culture is development…

The Just Transition Plan for Northern Ostrobothnia has been updated. The plan has also been submitted to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. You can read the updated plan here: Northern Ostrobothnia's Just Transition Plan for Finland, as part of the Just Transition Fund (JTF), has a specific JTF target of at least halving the energy use of peat by 2030. The EU country report to Finland (2020) states that Finland is largely on track to meet its 2020 climate target, but ambitious new measures are needed to reach the carbon neutrality target by 2035. For more information on the just transition, please contact: Päivi Keisanen, Development Manager, tel. +358 50 431 0605  

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has decided to invest in the development of tourism in the region and in the wider region. The Regional Council was selected together with the Pomorskie Region of Poland to coordinate the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region's action plan for the tourism policy area. The coordinators have been granted funding under the Interreg Baltic Sea Programme at the same time as the Steering Committee of the Interreg Baltic Sea Programme adopted its first funding decisions in Warsaw on 15 June. With the grant of project funding, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia will start as a project manager a policy area coordinator developing tourism. The project expands cooperation between tourism operators and companies in the Baltic Sea region. According to Pauli Harju, Regional Director of Northern Ostrobothnia, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's investment in the development of tourism in the Baltic Sea region complements the activities of Visit Finland and regional Visit organisations. "With this project, understanding of the Baltic Sea region as a tourist area will increase and the dialogue in Northern Ostrobothnia will be extended to the Baltic Sea region," Harju explains.…

The studies of the TUULI project have been completed: The goal of the TUULI project of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia is to promote sustainable wind power construction in Northern Ostrobothnia. As a result of the TUULI project, the wind power potential of Northern Ostrobothnia can be presented, as well as a country-to-country view of the most suitable areas for wind power construction. The preparatory studies for the TUULI project (green structure and ecosystem service study, updating study of the main migration route of birds, wolf territory study and electricity transmission study) were completed in December 2021 and the location control model was completed in early June 2022. The project's vision work will continue until the end of August 2022. The location management model of the TUULI project has identified new areas suitable for wind power construction and identified potential future wind power areas. As a result of the spatial data analysis, 251 regions were created, 13 of which are located in marine areas and 238 on land. All 251 regions from the spatial data review proceeded to further review. The areas were examined taking into account environmental, social and techno-economic perspectives. These were …

The application period for sustainable urban development from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for projects under the Oulu Innovation Agreement ended on 14 June 2022 in the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. By the deadline, 16 applications were received by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. There were 11 applications for action line one innovative Finland and 5 applications for action line two carbon neutral Finland. The applications applied for funding from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for a total amount of approximately EUR 1,631,000. Next, the project evaluation work will begin. Due to the summer holiday season, the evaluation work takes about 3 months.

Figure: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Henri Kylli Cooperative Team From Kala releasing about 15 kg of salmon into the Livojoki river. The salmon has been brought up for a moment for the description. In normal circumstances, any additional handling of fish is avoided. Atlantic salmon and trout will be transferred to the Iijoki and Livojoki rivers during the summer of 2022. Over-transfers support the emergence of salmonid stocks stigmatised in the river. This summer, we are also experimenting with the transfer of smolts, i.e. trout and salmon migrating downhill. Cooperative Team Kala is responsible for the practical implementation of transfers of both high-altitude fish and smolt. The over-transfer permit is in the Iijoki fishing area. Over-transfers are made possible by the Iijoki migratory fish project 2020-2022. Commercial fishermen catch floating fish from the estuary. The fish are transported in water tanks by car to waters above power plants. Approximately 200 specimens are expected to be transferred. Transfers will be made during June,…

The European Commission has selected Robocoast EDIH as the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH). A total of four EDIH organisations were selected in Finland. Overall, the Commission selected 136 EDIH organisations from 283 applications, which will serve as an EU-wide knowledge network. The mission of EDIH organisations is to act as a low-threshold contact point for companies, through which companies can easily find the skills, training, expert resources, partners, development environments they need to utilise different types of digital solutions and modernise their operations. Businesses will also be offered assistance in raising finance. EDIH service activities funded 50 % EU Digital Europe Programme (DEP), 30 % The funding comes from Business Finland and 20 % the share of the funding is self-financing by operational actors. The funding decision is three years, after which the effectiveness of the operations is evaluated. Robocoast EDIH consortium…

At the turn of May-June, a conference on Arctic infrastructure was held in Kiruna to discuss the development prospects, investment needs and security of supply of infrastructure and business in northern Scandinavia and Finland. According to Jouni Jussinniemi, 1st Vice-Chairman of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, who participated in the meeting, there was a clear need for all parties to meet the development needs of the northern transport system at the Kiruna Conference. The development of railways is essential in order to reduce transport emissions. This is how we respond to emission reductions, says Jussinniemi. From Finland's point of view, the climate perspective is important, but also due to the changed geopolitical situation, a smooth rail connection to Sweden and the Norwegian port of Narvik must be arranged. Jussinniemi emphasises that the railway will play a major role in Finland's security of supply in terms of exports and imports in the future. The related TEN-T funding needs to be secured in Finland, Sweden, Norway and at EU level.…