OSLO (Reuters) – H2 Green Steel has raised equity funding of about 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to build a flagship plant in the northern town of Boden, the Swedish steel company said on Thursday, in line with plans presented in April.
The round of private placement was co-led by new investor Hy24 alongside existing investors Altor, GIC and Just Climate, the company said, and also included new investors Andra AP Fonden and Temasek as well as a group of current owners.
“The round will finance the world’s first large-scale green steel plant and Europe’s first giga-scale electrolyzer,” H2 Green Steel said in a statement.
The transaction was a “big leap” towards the start of steelmaking operations in Boden by the end of 2025, it said.
Morgan Stanley acted as sole financial adviser to H2 Green Steel in the private placement.
H2 Green Steel, launched in 2021, will power the facility with hydrogen made from renewable electricity, rather than coal, to deliver steel with up to 95% less CO2 emissions, compared with traditional blast furnace technology.
Last month, the company announced that it had signed multi-year deals with miners Rio Tinto and Vale for the supply of iron ore pellets from Canada and Brazil.
($1=0.9329 euros)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
