International Steel Mills

Bula tapped as CEO of Finland's Blastr

Written by Ethan Bernard

April 15, 2024

Finland’s Blastr Green Steel has named Mark Bula as new CEO.

Bula will “lead the development of Europe’s first integrated ultra-low CO2 steel value chain with the main steel plant planned in Inkoo, Finland,” the green steelmaker said in a statement on April 11.

Bula previously worked as chief commercial officer at Sweden’s H2 Green Steel in Sweden and was the chief revenue officer and chief commercial officer at Big River Steel (now part of U.S. Steel).

The company said Bula “will drive Blastr’s strategic development, capital-raising, and project execution, leveraging extensive C-suite and start-up experience.”

He is taking the reins from Hans Fredrik Wittusen, and will be based in Finland.

“Global steel production needs to transform at scale to provide customers and end-users with decarbonized green steel,” Bula said in the statement. “We are in the infancy of this transition, which will fundamentally change how we make the world’s most important engineering and construction material.”

The company said it is “creating a low-carbon steel value chain with over 90% lower C02 emissions than conventional steelmaking by using hydrogen instead of coal in the production process and feedstock made with renewable energy.”

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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