The world's first icebreaker powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) made its debut in June this year in the waters off Helsinki.
Now, the first LNG terminal has opened in eastern Helsinki's Vuosaari Harbour.
Jussi Vainikka, business development manager with Gasum, says that his company is pleased that the EU considered this an important opportunity as it sped up the company's decision to invest in LNG.
EU support to the tune of 2.65 million euros helped fund the four refuelling stations that will service predominantly heavy-duty vehicles such as lorries.
As LNG can be transported outside the regular pipe network by ship or trucks, it will likely reduce Finland's dependence on Russia for gas in the future as it opens up network options for buying from other countries such as Norway.
Gasum was one-quarter owned by the Russian state gas company Gazprom, but the Finnish state bought out its share in early 2016.
Last year, an estimated 60-70 percent of the value of Finland's energy imports was from Russia, including oil, gas, coal, nuclear fuel and electricity.