Cleantech for Europe recently released its quarterly briefing on the cleantech market in Europe. The report shows a boom in debt investments, where the most active countries based on deal count were Germany, Sweden, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.
In the first quarter of 2024, EU cleantech debt investment – which comprises loans, loan guarantees, project finance, and structured debt – reached a record-breaking €16.7 billion, surpassing the total for all of 2023.
These numbers come from megadeals from cleantech leaders such as Swedish Northvolt and H2 Green Steel, but also the large industrials which raised debts to finance new manufacturing projects.
– Developing a first-of-its-kind project requires all types of cleantech financing mechanisms and they need to interact. In H2 Green Steel’s case, this meant securing €4.2 billion in project finance, €2.1 billion in equity and a €250 million grant from the EU Innovation Fund for the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Northern Sweden, said Henrik Henriksson, CEO at H2 Green Steel.
Cleantech venture capital deals occurred in 17 out of 27 EU member states. The most active countries, by number of deals, were Germany, Sweden, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Sweden made the highest level since 2021, after two consecutive quarters of decline.
Take part in the full briefing here.
