The amount Stegra is hoping for – 150 million euros – has already been approved by the European Commission. However, no payment has been made so far.
These are positive discussions and we will see how things go in the next few weeks, says Shaun Kingsbury to TT in connection with his formal green light as the new chairman of the board of Stegra at an extraordinary general meeting.
“Commitments of hundreds of millions”
The Swedish money would be part of the large financial puzzle that Stegra is currently trying to put together, after the budget for the steel factory in Boden and infrastructure in the port of Luleå was cut by about 15 percent.
Roughly speaking, around one billion euros are needed, on top of the 6.5 billion euros that have already been invested. And talks with owners about capital injections began as early as this summer.
"We already have commitments there of hundreds of millions (of euros)," says Kingsbury.
He doesn't want to go into details about who has promised to contribute what. But he confirms that Al Gore's climate investment fund Just Climate – which he himself works for – is contributing more money.
Another track is new loans and restructuring the loans Stegra already has.
We are working with the banks now. It will take a few months. It will be a while into next year before we get everything in place.
The third track in the plan is to raise money by selling Stegra assets, such as power grids and railways, and then renting them back when they are to be used in production.
It is not clear how large the shares of the three different tracks will be in the financing round.
It's still moving.
“A completely different thing” than Northvolt
Shaun Kingsbury denies media reports that Stegra's coffers will soon be empty.
That is not the reality we see today.
But I won't tell you how much money we have in the bank.
Kingsbury instead wants to shift focus to the 3,500 people who are currently working to get the factory building in Boden completed – in a year or so. According to Stegra, 1 percent of the project is currently being paid off each week and is already about 60 percent complete.
Stegra is also strategically and geopolitically important for both Sweden and Europe, according to Kingsbury. And fundamentally “very profitable.” Steel buyers are prepared to pay an increasingly large premium for green steel and production costs in Boden are relatively low, he says.
And he thinks comparisons with the bankrupt battery manufacturer Northvolt are lame.
As I see it, Stegra is a completely different matter.
Joakim Goksör/TT
Facts: Stegra's new chairman
TT
Northern Irishman Shaun Kingsbury, 58, was elected as the new chairman of Stegra's board at an extraordinary general meeting on November 4. He thus replaces Stegra's major owner and co-founder Harald Mix.
On Stegra's board, Kingsbury represents major owner Just Climate, former US Vice President Al Gore's investment fund.
Kingsbury has a background in UK green technology investments, having served as CEO of the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) – the world’s first green investment bank – which was launched by the UK government. He has also previously worked in the private finance sector in London.
Stegra's board has also brought in new industry expertise with Emmanuel Rodriguez, previously at steel giant Arcelor Mittal, and Annemarie Manger, previously at steel manufacturer Tata Steel.
