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H2 Green Steel drums up funding for new Swedish plant: Swedish low-carbon steel manufacturing firm H2 Green Steel — backed by Mercedes-Benz, Scania, and the Maersk family, among others — has raised EUR 4.75 bn (c. USD 5.2 bn) in debt capital to build a plant in Boden, Sweden, according to a statement. The facility is set to be the world’s first large scale hydrogen-powered green steel facility, manufacturing products with a 95% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional alternatives. The price tag for the Boden plant is expected to total EUR 6.5 bn.
The breakdown: The Swedish startup secured a EUR 250 mn grant from the EU Innovation Fund, EUR 300 mn in equity investments from financiers including Microsoft and Siemens, along with another EUR 4.2 bn in debt funding. Milbank, Mannheimer Swartling, Societe Generale and KfW IPEX-Bank served as legal and financial advisers on the transaction, while Morgan Stanley acted as equity adviser.
REMEMBER- A North American expansion in the works: Back in October, H2 Green Steel’s CEO Henrik Henrikssonin said that the firm is in negotiations to set up a mega, 500-acre green steel plant in Canada with plans to invest between EUR 3-5 bn on the project, while conducting out a feasibility study assessing the wind and solar potentials in Texas as it mulls expanding operations in the US.
China resumes carbon trading after seven-year hiatus: The Chinese government has resumed trading on its national voluntary carbon trading market (VCM) on the Beijing Green Exchange after a seven-year pause meant to prevent oversupply, Bloomberg reports. China has revealed four new decarbonization assets from which carbon credits can be generated for the China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) market: forestation, mangrove cultivation, solar thermal power, and grid-connected offshore wind power projects. The country’s Ecology and Environment Ministry also signed agreements with potential entrants to the VCM including state-owned firms like China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), and Saihanba Forest Farm in Hebei province. Offsets will be priced between CNY 40-60 (c.USD 5.56- USD 8.34) per metric ton of CO2 equivalent, according to S&P Global.
OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-
- Italy’s Eni Plenitude eyes Spanish offshore wind power: Under a JV agreement,Italian oil giant Eni’s renewable energy arm Eni Plenitude will build offshore wind projects with BlueFloat Energy and Sener Renewable Investments. BlueFloat and Sener’s JV has a 1.25 GW portfolio of offshore wind farms across Galicia, Catalonia and the Canary Islands. (Reuters)
