Betolar Plc
Company Release
16 October 2026 at 9:30 am EEST
Kimmo Tiilikainen, former Finnish Minister and Director General of the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), has been appointed Director of Metal Extraction Technology (MET) at Betolar Plc
Tiilikainen will be part of the Betolar management team, starting November 1, 2026.
Tiilikainen has worked with critical raw materials, mineral policy and the circular economy for more than two decades. He led GTK as Director General from 2021 to 2026 and was State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment from 2019 to 2021.
He also served as Minister of the Environment and Energy from 2017 to 2019, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of the Environment from 2007 to 2008 and was a Member of Parliament from 2003 to 2019. In addition, he chaired the steering group for Finland's Mineral Strategy in 2024 and was a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Resource Use from 2023 to 2025.
"Securing access to critical raw materials is increasingly important, across EU and US. Few people in Europe know the critical raw materials agenda as well as Kimmo. He has shaped it as a minister, led the Geological Survey of Finland to international success and creating Finland's mineral strategy. That someone with his experience chooses to join Betolar says a lot about where our technology is heading", says Vibeke Krohn, President and CEO of Betolar.
Europe's industry and defence depend on titanium, vanadium and other critical metals, and most of them are imported from a few countries. The EU has set targets for 2030 to extract, process and recycle more of these raw materials in Europe. At the same time, a century of mining and steelmaking has left millions of tonnes of waste that still contain valuable metals.
"Europe needs more critical raw materials. Betolar's technology enables recovery of valuable metals from slag and tailing, turning previous waste into value. I have spent much of my career shaping policies and strategies for the circular economy and the supply of critical raw materials, in Finland, EU and globally. At Betolar, I have a fantastic opportunity to advance the same goals with practical business solutions," says Kimmo Tiilikainen.
Jyri Talja has led Betolar's Mining & Metals business line and the development of its metal extraction technology. Talja will continue at Betolar as Director of Technology Sales in MET and lead the future development of metal extraction technology, from laboratory and furnace testing to industrial scale. In his new role Talja, will not be part of Betolar management team.
Further information:
Vibeke Krohn, CEO & President, Betolar Plc, vibeke.krohn@betolar.com, +47 936 34 491
Certified Advisor:
Aktia Alexander Corporate Finance Oy, tel. +358 50 520 4098
About Betolar
Betolar is a material technology company focused on advancing sustainable and resilient solutions for critical infrastructure and the circular economy. We develop technologies that enable low-carbon construction and the efficient utilization of industrial side streams
Betolar was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Kannonkoski, Finland. The company is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland (ticker: BETOLAR), and its shares are also traded in the US on the OTCQX International market (ticker: BTLRF).
www.betolar.com
