Stockholm-based startup H2 Green Steel has secured a groundbreaking €1.5 billion equity investment in a private placement led by investors including Hy24, together with existing investors Altor, GIC and Just Climate, marking the largest such investment in a minority stake in another company to date. The startup, founded in 2020, is dedicated to advancing the decarbonization of industries, with a primary focus on the steel sector, by harnessing Green Hydrogen technology. The funds will support the construction of the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden, alongside Europe’s largest electrolyzer, aiming to deliver steel with up to 95 percent fewer CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods.
The transaction also includes new investors Andra AP - fonden and Temasek as well as a group of existing investors that continue to support H2 Green Steel with additional equity funding, including AMF, Cristina Stenbeck, Hitachi Energy, IMAS Foundation, Kinnevik, Schaeffler, Vargas and Wallenberg Investments holding company FAM.
The proceeds will finance the construction and development of H2 Green Steel’s flagship large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Groundworks have been ongoing on the site in Boden since summer 2022, and through this transaction H2 Green Steel takes another big leap towards start of operations end of 2025.
The plant will deliver steel with up to 95 percent less CO2 emissions compared to steel produced with traditional blast furnace technology. This is made possible by replacing coal in the production process with hydrogen, produced on-site with Europe’s largest electrolyzer, using electricity from renewable sources. Next-generation technology and digitalization, along with an unmatched approach to both circularity and recycling, will make the steel plant the first of its kind.
“The caliber of investors that are backing us is impressive. Some of the most professional institutions, investors and industrial companies globally are part of this round and we are proud that they all share our commitment to sustainability as their true north. €1.5 billion is the largest private placement in Europe this year and the appetite to invest in us proves both our solid business case and the market demand for green steel”, says Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel.
“This marks the start of industrial scale decarbonization of basic materials production. The sector will require substantial investments over the coming decades to enable our customers to produce green end products and, thereby meet their climate targets. We hope this financing will contribute towards accelerating the much needed, broad participation of capital markets in the transformation of hard-to-abate industries”, says Otto Gernandt, CFO of H2 Green Steel.
Since launch in 2021, H2 Green Steel has raised more than €1.8 billion of equity in three financing rounds. The company closed its series A equity round of €86 million in May 2021 and announced the close of its series B1 round of €260 million in October 2022. On the debt side, H2 Green Steel announced in 2022 the structure for its debt financing of over €3.5 billion and renewed commitment letters in July 2023.
Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc acted as sole financial advisor to H2 Green Steel in the private placement.
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