EriCa – Green Chemistry Park, a hub for talent and companies in green chemistry, will open its doors in autumn 2025 in Espoo. At EriCa, ambitious companies, experts, and R&D institutes will collaborate to create sustainable solutions for a better world. Community-builder Crazy Town has been chosen as EriCa’s operator, responsible for launching operations, developing the community, selling the ecosystem, and providing daily services.
A homebase in Europe’s leading deep tech city
EriCa will be located in Espoo, one of Europe’s top cities for startups and innovation. Over 100 ambitious startups are launched in the city annually, which is also home to most of Finland’s unicorn companies. Nearly 50% of the Helsinki Stock Exchange turnover comes from companies based in Espoo. The city offers ample opportunities to collaborate with fresh talent, global customers, and innovation leaders such as Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre.
Crazy Town’s existing community of over 400 member companies will also gain a direct presence in Espoo. They can establish a home base to scale operations in the capital city region.
“Our members often operate across multiple cities,” says Mikko Markkanen, founder of Crazy Town. “With hubs like EriCa, you can stay close to your partners, build networks, and still provide remote work options for your team. EriCa will be a great location for startups, scaleups, and industry players. Whether you need space for R&D, want to connect with partners, or plan to grow your local team, EriCa and Crazy Town offer flexibility and access to Espoo’s innovation ecosystem.”
Support from Enter Espoo and the City of Espoo has been extremely valuable
“The support from Enter Espoo and the City of Espoo has been fantastic for getting things started,” says Toni Pienonen, a Crazy Town team member in the capital city region. “In return, we introduce our community members—both old and new—to all that Espoo has to offer. We’ve worked on a few projects here over the past years, and the Espoo-based entrepreneurial communities do some pretty awesome stuff. We’re happy to connect our teams here and help them grow their local operations.”
Espoo is Northern’s Europe leading startup and innovation city. Photo: Enter Espoo / Antti Rastivo
EriCa’s location in Espoo means that everything is close by — customers, labs, campuses, and R&D hubs are all connected by a single metro line. Locations such as VTT Bioruukki, Europe’s largest open-access bioeconomy pilot facility, and Aalto University campus with Finland’s leading accelerators are just a few stops away. EriCa’s main tenant, Kemira, will also play a key role at EriCa, as their R&D center will be situated on the floors below shared coworking and lab spaces that Crazy Town will operate. Kemira aims to attract partners such as startups and other expert companies to collaborate on innovative projects with help of EriCa.
Crazy Town is already planning events, hackathons, and other activities to connect people —long before the physical space is ready
“We’re starting community-building this winter, so stay tuned,” says Markkanen. “Also, if you’re part of a Finnish university or company with team members in Helsinki region, but no office of your own, why not offer them something better than a home office? With EriCa, you’ll give them access to colleagues, a vibrant workspace, and Europe’s best environment to develop, innovate, and scale sustainable solutions. Why not join us as a member today?”
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EriCa, located in the Finnoo Espoo, is a hub for top experts and companies in green chemistry whose mission is to change the world. The property is owned jointly by A. Ahlström Real Estate Ltd, Kemira Church Pension Fund and Aktia Life Insurance Ltd.
Crazy Town is a community of hundreds of growth-seeking companies, where thousands of experts collaborate and innovate. Crazy Town is one of Finland’s and Europe’s oldest community-driven workspace operators. Crazy Town is responsible for operating ErICa Green Chemistry Park.
Mikko Markkanen, partnerships
mikko.markkanen@crazytown.fi
+358 40 758 8712
Toni Pienonen, partnerships
toni.pienonen@crazytown.fi
+358 400 737 238
Timo Lahti, sales
timo.lahti@crazytown.fi
+358 10 341 7055
Pavel Popov, sales
pavel.popov@crazytown.fi
+358 10 341 7067
