Wärtsilä is to build a new research and development centre in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa, Finland. Planning for the €200 million (US$232 million) Smart Technology Hub is already underway, with the envisaged opening date being in 2020. Wärtsilä does not intend to use the facility only for its own purposes, but to open it up to other operators in the energy and marine sectors in which the company does the majority of its work. The hub will further increase the Vaasa region’s role as the largest energy technology cluster in the Nordic region.