Cederquist advises lenders on H2 Green Steel’s EUR4.2bn financing

Cederquist advised the senior lenders on a greenfield project financing for the construction of the world’s first large-scale green steel plant and Europe’s first giga-scale electrolyzer in Boden, Sweden.

The EUR4.2bn financing comprises a EUR3.55bn senior facility provided by over 20 commercial banks, the European Investment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, as well as an up to EUR600m second lien facility. The senior facilities benefit from a EUR1.2bn loan guarantee provided by Euler Hermes, the German export credit agency, alongside a loan guarantee of up to EUR1.2bn from Riksgäldskontoret, the Swedish National Debt Office. When fully operational, 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.

The Cederquist team was led by partner Johan Lundberg and senior associate Sebastian Karlsson, supported by Karl Skorup Averås. Jonas Forsén (Partner M&A) led the team advising on due diligence and related issues with support from Johan Hedlund, William Wall, Mark Gebert and others specialist teams.