Valmet Unit Faces About €130 Million CHP3 Arbitration Claim

Valmet disclosed on November 9, 2026, that Kronospan Energy S.A. had filed a request for arbitration against its subsidiary Valmet Technologies Oy, with preliminary monetary claims of approximately €130 million concerning a biomass-fired heat and power plant in Sanem, Luxembourg. The dispute involves alleged performance issues and defects in the plant, known as CHP3.

Kronospan Energy’s demand is preliminary, not an arbitration award or an established liability. The company reserved the right to supplement and amend its claims and to advance further claims, leaving both the amount and scope of the case open to revision.

The largest identified component is €102 million in damages for an alleged loss in CHP3’s value. Kronospan Energy is also seeking €23 million for lost profit at the Sanem site where the plant was installed. Those two categories make up most of the preliminary demand.

Valmet Technologies contests the allegations, maintaining that CHP3 met the agreed performance requirements when operated with the agreed fuel and otherwise as specified in the purchase agreement; it considers the claims unfounded and is confident it can mount a full defense in arbitration.

The subsidiary also intends to actively pursue claims of its own against Kronospan Energy. It did not provide an amount or breakdown for those intended claims.

Contract and Plant Background

The arbitration concerns a purchase agreement dated January 18, 2022, for delivery of CHP3 as specified under that contract. The plant’s takeover followed on July 12, 2024. Valmet said a project with a similar scope typically costs approximately €100 million, a general benchmark rather than a disclosed price for CHP3 itself.

A Luxembourg operating authorization issued on October 26, 2023 supplies additional detail on CHP3’s role and authorized scale. Kronospan Luxembourg S.A. applied on August 11, 2022, to operate the new installation at its Sanem production site for the recovery of hazardous wood waste through co-incineration.

The permit identifies CHP3 as a biomass boiler with 138 MW of thermal capacity. It lists a capacity of 1,300 tonnes per day for hazardous wood waste and, separately, the same daily capacity for non-hazardous wood waste. The authorization also required CHP3 and a new particleboard production line to enter operation no later than December 31, 2025.

Early Assessment of Financial Impact

Valmet’s management said it does not currently expect any material adverse impacts on the company’s operations or financial position, based on its best current understanding. The assessment is explicitly an early one that takes into account the grounds currently presented, not a final determination of exposure or outcome.

The immediate issue is therefore a disputed demand rather than a confirmed loss. Kronospan Energy’s claims remain open to revision, Valmet Technologies intends to advance claims of its own, and the disagreement over whether CHP3 met the contractual performance requirements leaves the eventual financial consequences unresolved.