In the largest private placement in Europe this year, H2 Green Steel has raised €1.5 billion in equity from an investor group led by Altor, GIC, Hy24 and Just Climate. The round will finance the world’s first large-scale green steel plant and Europe’s first giga scale electrolyzer.
The private placement is co-led by new investor Hy24, together with existing investors Altor, GIC and Just Climate. The transaction also includes a new investors AP2 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, IMAS Foundation, Kinnevik, Schaeffler, Vargas and Wallenberg asset management 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 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 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.
“We are impressed by the achievements to date by H2 Green Steel and excited to take the role as one of the lead investors. We will significantly increase our engagement in H2 Green Steel in this next important phase when the company is set to build the world’s first large-scale green steel plant. Over Altor’s 20 years, partnering in large industrial transformations has been at our core. H2 Green Steel also fits perfectly next to Altor’s increasingly broad base of investments in the green transition space. We look forward to extending the partnership with management and support on the path to launch operations at the end of 2025”, says Klas Johansson, co-managing Partner at Altor.
“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.
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.
