Stegra

Stegra raises EUR1.5 billion in equity to build the world’s first green steel plant

Stockholm, September 7, 2023 – In the largest private placement in Europe this year, Stegra has raised about €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 new investors Andra AP -fonden and Temasek as well as a group of existing investors that continue to support Stegra 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 Stegra’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 Stegra 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 Stegra.

“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 Stegra.

Since launch in 2021, Stegra 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, Stegra 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 Stegra in the private placement.

COMMENTS FROM INVESTORS:

“We are excited to take a role as one of the lead investors and significantly increase our engagement in Stegra in this next important phase when the company is set to build the world’s first large-scale green steel plant. Over our 20 years, partnering in large industrial transformations have been at our core. Stegra also fits perfectly next to Altor’s increasingly broad base of investments in the green transition space. We are excited to extend 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.

“Since our first round of investment, Stegra has made significant progress in building the world’s first green steel plant. We will continue to support management as they work towards this first-of-its-kind project in the hard to abate industry. As a long-term investor, we are committed to providing capital to develop solutions that help decarbonize the real economy”, says Choo Yong Cheen, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity at GIC.

”Stegra's flagship project in Boden is the most advanced large-scale, green industrial project in the world. It is a trailblazer in decarbonization of hard-to-abate industrial sectors like steel. The investment by Hy24’s clean hydrogen infrastructure fund will support Stegra's ambition to materially reshape steel markets, providing a green alternative to its off-takers and partners. This is part of Hy24’s commitment to help industry get to net zero”, says Pierre-Etienne Franc, co-founder and CEO of Hy24.

“When we established Just Climate it was to invest into the hard-to-abate areas of industry that produce some of the highest levels of carbon emissions. Decarbonizing steel production is a critical piece of this industrial decarbonization process, and we are pleased to be part of the lead investor group that has today announced its support for the business”, says Shaun Kingsbury CBE, Chief Investment Officer of Just Climate.