Wärtsilä orders jump 33%, Helen studies nuclear heat for Helsinki and Vaasa firm Arcteq wins a second CERN deal

Wärtsilä’s orders rose 33% on data-centre demand, Helen has begun an environmental assessment for a nuclear plant in Helsinki, and Vaasa’s Arcteq has a second five-year CERN agreement.

Finland’s engineering sector is being pulled towards electricity and data. Wärtsilä reported a jump in orders, Helsinki’s energy company Helen has started an environmental assessment for a possible nuclear heat plant, and a small Vaasa firm has won a second contract period with CERN.

1. Wärtsilä: orders up 33%, but the share price fell

Wärtsilä’s interim report of 27 October 2026 gives these figures for July–September compared with a year earlier:

  • Order intake: €2,368 million, up 33% (41% organically).
  • Net sales: €1,493 million (€1,397 million), up 7%.
  • Comparable operating result: €212 million (€179 million), up 19%.
  • Operating result: €222 million (€214 million).

Among the orders were a 300 MW power plant in Australia with 13 Wärtsilä 46TS-SG engines and 282 MW of on-site data-centre power in the United States with 15 Wärtsilä 50SG engines. According to Yle, CEO Håkan Agnevall says more of the company’s people now work with data than in production, services are about half of the business, and production capacity is planned to grow by 65% by 2029. Even so, the share price fell about 8% on the day of the report after the company set cautious new targets (low double-digit sales growth and a 16% profit target), according to Yle.

2. Helen starts an environmental assessment for a nuclear plant in Helsinki

Yle reported on 3 November 2026 that Helen has published the environmental impact assessment (EIA) programme for a possible nuclear plant. This is the start of an assessment, not a decision to build.

  • Sites: Salmisaari, Vuosaari and Norrberget in Östersundom, with up to about six plant options. These include small modular reactors that produce only district heat or both heat and electricity.
  • Main effects studied: warming of seawater (for the combined heat and power option only), and forest clearing at Norrberget.
  • Timeline: Helen aims to choose the model and site by the end of 2027. The plant would be completed more than ten years after that. The goal is to stop burning fuel for district heat by 2040.
  • Have your say: comments go through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (tem.fi/helen-yva-ohjelma). Public events are planned for 16 Nov (Oodi), 19 Nov (Aurinkolahti School), 24 Nov (We Land, Ruoholahti) and 26 Nov (Sakarinmäki School). More information is at helen.fi/ydinvoima.

3. Vaasa company Arcteq signs a second five-year deal with CERN

Arcteq, a Vaasa company founded in 2010, makes protection relays for electricity networks and exports to about 70 countries. It has about 65 employees and revenue of €25 million in 2025. According to Daily Northern, citing Yle, it has worked with CERN for over a decade; CERN first met the company at a trade fair in Paris. Arcteq won a competitive tender and has now signed a second five-year agreement. Two prototypes have been delivered and several deliveries are planned this year. CEO Juha Arvola says flexibility helps it compete with larger firms. Its products are also used in utilities, industry, power generation and data centres.

FGC perspective

The common thread is electricity: data centres, heating and industry all need more of it, and Finnish companies supply both the energy and the equipment. For jobseekers, demand may grow for engineers, electricians, technicians and project managers, but hiring depends on individual companies and projects, and Helen’s plant is more than a decade away. For entrepreneurs, Arcteq shows that a small specialist firm can win global customers through technical expertise and long relationships.

Sources