French Demeter joins H2 Green Steel investor group

France’s Demeter is investing in Swedish startup H2 Green Steel through the Climate Infrastructure Fund. Thus, the company will join a group of large financial investors, including Hy24, as well as several representatives from the automotive and steel industries. This is stated in the company’s message.

The financing is intended for the construction of the world’s first integrated large-scale green steel plant in Sweden with Europe’s largest hydrogen plant, which is currently under construction.

The Climate Infrastructure Fund is carrying out this transaction together with Hy24 through a special investment vehicle.

According to Philippe Detours, Managing Partner of Demeter, this investment confirms the company’s commitment to decarbonizing the industry and its desire to strengthen its presence in Europe.

“We are delighted to have facilitated Demeter’s investment, making them the second French player to back H2 Green Steel,” said Pierre-Etienne Frank, co-founder and CEO of Hy24.

In January 2024 H2 Green Steel announced a significant fundraising of approximately €1.8 billion in equity and over €4 billion in debt. The total amount of financing raised by the Swedish startup is about €6.5 billion.

Demeter is a major European player in venture capital, private equity and infrastructure investments in the energy and environmental transition sectors. Its funds invest from €1 to €30 million to support companies in the sector at all stages of their development (innovative startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure projects).

As GMK Center reported earlier, H2 Green Steel is considering four new large projects that are close to entering the permitting stage. This was announced by Kaisa Ritter-Walgren, Vice President of Growth and Hydrogen Business.

The projects at the pre-feasibility stage are located in Quebec (Canada), Texas (USA), Brazil, and Portugal. At the same time, the startup’s innovative project in Boden, Sweden, is based on the use of a giant electrolyzer. By 2030, the steel plant, built from scratch, is expected to produce 5 million tons of green steel. The project will also produce 100 thousand tons of green hydrogen per year using 750 MW of renewable energy. The first production is expected in 2026.