Stegra Closes $1.6 Billion Raise to Complete Europe’s Largest Green Steel Plant

Swedish green iron and steel maker Stegra has closed a €1.4 billion (USD $1.6 billion) financing round, securing the capital needed to complete construction of what it describes as the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Boden, in northern Sweden. The company announced the closing on 24 June 2026.

The completion of the round provides a major lifeline to a project that had slowed in recent months as development was paused pending the outcome of the financing process. With the funding now in place, Stegra said it is ramping up construction activities at the Boden site, though the overall project timeline remains under review. The plant had previously been expected to begin operations in 2026.

This story links to three UN Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) is at its core, financing one of the world's first large-scale green steel plants. SDG 13 (Climate Action) is the goal, cutting the heavy emissions of traditional steelmaking. And SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) underpins it, as the plant relies on hydrogen made with renewable power.

Founded in 2020, Stegra is building its first large-scale low-carbon steel plant with the aim of producing 5 million tonnes of green steel annually. The company’s process uses hydrogen produced with green power to remove oxygen from iron oxide — replacing the coal-based blast furnace route and avoiding most of the carbon dioxide emissions normally generated in steelmaking. Electricity for the wider manufacturing process is drawn entirely from renewable sources. Steel is among the most carbon-intensive heavy industries, responsible for a significant share of global emissions, which makes a commercial-scale demonstration of near-zero-emissions production a closely watched test for industrial decarbonisation.

The scale of the undertaking is substantial. Construction of the plant began in 2022, and by early 2024 Stegra said it had secured €6.5 billion in funding. But the capital environment for clean tech has tightened considerably since then, and in late 2025 the company revealed it had entered a new financing round to secure the funds needed to finish the project. It announced in April 2026 that it had agreed the €1.4 billion round in principle, subject to approvals, which have now been completed.

The new round is led by the Wallenberg family foundation’s Wallenberg Investments, alongside a consortium that includes existing investors Temasek and IMAS and new investors Bolero and SEB-Stiftelsen. A new holding company, Stegra Holding AB, owned by the round’s investors, now holds more than 90% of the shares and votes in Stegra. Former Volvo Group chief executive Leif Johansson has been appointed chair of the board, representing the Wallenberg-led consortium. Johansson succeeds Shaun Kingsbury, who chaired the board over the past several quarters and remains a director.

The round also drew support from a broad group of existing backers, including Altor — now the second-largest shareholder — as well as Hy24, Just Climate, AMF, AP2, Climate Infrastructure Fund, Kallskär, Kobe Steel, Lingotto Innovation, Scania, Schaeffler, Stena Metall Finans and Swedbank Robur.

“We are grateful for the support for the work we are doing in bringing near zero emissions steel to the market from both new and existing investors, as well as from lenders,” said Stegra chief executive Henrik Henriksson. “It’s a strong sign of confidence in our business case and the project.”

For Europe, the deal carries weight beyond a single balance sheet. It signals that patient capital can still be mobilised at scale for first-of-a-kind industrial decarbonisation, even in a cooler funding climate — and that the continent retains ambition to manufacture the low-carbon materials its energy transition will depend on.