H2 Green Steel has received €1.5 billion from a large group of international investors - the company says this is the largest European private placement of the year. The steelmaker is investing the money in the development of its large-scale hydrogen steelmaking plant in Boden, northern Sweden. The steel is to be produced with 95% fewer emissions than in a blast furnace. Start-up: 2025.
Annually, H2 Green Steel is expected to produce 2.5 million tons of green steel. Hydrogen will be produced on site using "Europe's biggest" electrolyzer - output up to 700 MW - which will then be used for steel production in the direct reduction process. The supplier of the electrolysis plant, as has been known since May, is thyssenkrupp Nucera.
The approx. 300 ha plant in Sweden is to use 100% renewable energy. The location on the ground - access to water energy and low electricity costs - plays an important role. In April 2023 H2 Green Steel signed a contract for 2.3 TWh of electricity with the Scandinavian utility Fortum.
Largest European private placement in 2023
In three financing rounds, the future steelmaker raised a total of more than €1.8 billion in equity capital since its founding in 2021 - of which €1.5 billion was raised in the third. International investors such as steel processor Schaeffler (Germany), technology developer Hitachi Energy (Japan) and investment fund Hy24 (France), Altor (UK), GIC (Singapore) and many more are thus financially participating in the project.
Henrik Henriksson, CEO of H2 Green Steel: "Some of the world's most professional institutions, investors and industrial companies are participating in 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 model and the market demand for green steel."
The company had closed its first equity round of €86 million in May 2021. Series-B1 ended in October 2022 with €260 million. H2 Green Steel stated the amount of debt in 2022 at €3.5 billion and renewed the commitments in July 2023.
