🇸🇪 Liquid Wind raises €44 million in Series C

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Liquid Wind raises €44 million in Series C financing with Uniper, HYCAP and Samsung Ventures to meet increasing demand for low-carbon fuels

  • The €44 million ($47m USD) raise is one of the largest funding rounds in Europe for eFuels this year.  

  • The investment will accelerate the development of green eFuel production for hard-to-abate sectors including shipping. 

  • The funding will support Liquid Wind’s strategy to develop 10 eFuel facilities by 2027, with the aim to reach 500 facilities globally by 2050.

Liquid Wind, the leading Swedish eFuel facility developer has raised €44 million in Series C financing led by Uniper, HYCAP Fund I SCSp (“HYCAP”) and Samsung Ventures. The financing will support the development of 10 eFuel facilities by 2027 as part of the company’s vision of reaching 500 facilities globally by 2050. The raise represents one of the largest European funding rounds in the eFuel sector this year.

Why green fuel investment matters

The global shipping sector is facing an urgent challenge: by 2050, all ship transport must be sustainable, and over 100,000 operational ships will need to transition to non-fossil fuel energy sources. Consequently, Liquid Wind is seeing strong demand from shipping companies and their clients for green shipping solutions to help decarbonise supply chains and meet essential targets.

The majority of global trade is transported by sea, accounting for 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the UNCTAD1. This is driven by 98 percent of the world’s operational transport fleet running on conventional fossil fuels. The shipping industry must now decarbonise to meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 net zero targets. Liquid Wind is developing the production facilities needed to meet the demand and replace carbon intensive maritime fossil fuels with low-carbon eFuel, facilitating the decarbonisation of global shipping.

Claes Fredriksson, CEO and Founder of Liquid Wind, commented:

“Global shipping has realised the urgency of low-carbon eFuels as a commercial necessity to meet sustainability targets and new regulations. The demand for low-carbon maritime fuels is undeniable, and we are seeing major shipping companies launching eFuel-powered vessels. Our shareholders recognise this, and we are pleased to welcome Samsung Ventures as a new investor, alongside continued support from Uniper and HYCAP. This backing strengthens our capacity to accelerate production and advance our vision to reduce the world’s dependency on fossil fuel. The investment, the largest in our company history, reflects their confidence in Liquid Wind’s potential to scale eFuel production in the years to come.”

Jan Taschenberger, COO New Green Power and Gas of Uniper, says:

“We believe that only through a partnership approach can the visionary projects needed for the energy transition be truly successful. Joint projects such as NorthStarH2, which aims to produce 100,000 tons of eMethanol for use in shipping and the chemical industry, can lead the way. Our ongoing partnership with Liquid Wind has proven to be very fruitful and we look forward to achieving further milestones together and actively shaping the future of the energy industry. This continued collaboration fits perfectly with Uniper’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.”

A spokesperson from Samsung Ventures said:

“It’s exciting to find a company that has the potential to disrupt multiple industries and simultaneously make carbon-free energy a reality. Liquid Wind is moving forward quickly into a market that is well set for a combination of growth and revenue potential.”

James Munce, CEO of HYCAP, says:

“We are pleased to strengthen our backing for Liquid Wind and its innovative eFuel facilities. Their standardised approach to scaling low-carbon fuel production is exactly what the maritime sector needs to meet its decarbonisation targets. Since our initial investment, Claes and the team have demonstrated a laser focus on delivering the underlying projects and accelerating energy transition in the maritime sector.”

Collaboration driven technology

Liquid Wind develops scalable eFuel facilities to convert biogenic CO2 and renewable electricity into eMethanol, a fossil-free alternative fuel. Liquid Wind’s standardised and modularised approach enables efficient replication of these facilities, addressing common barriers such as high costs and limited scalability in eFuel adoption. Central to the strategy is the use of the proprietary Digital Twin technology which allows the company to rapidly replicate, construct and implement eFuel production facilities with reduced cost and risk.

On an annual basis, each standardised Liquid Wind facility will produce up to 100,000 tons of eFuel while upcycling 150,000 tons of carbon dioxide, generating 94 percent lower emissions compared to fossil fuels on a ’Well-to-Wake’ basis (the entire process from fuel production to use).

In collaboration with leading decarbonisation companies Alfa Laval, Carbon Clean, Siemens Energy and Topsoe, Liquid Wind has established a joint eFuel Design and Performance Centre in Hørsholm, Denmark dedicated to innovating and accelerating the deployment of eFuel plants.

Additionally, Liquid Wind has partnered with Sundsvall Energi, Umeå Energi, NordFuel and Puhuri, to develop three projects in Sweden and in Finland. As part of these initiatives, and alongside the development of the company’s own eFuel facilities, Uniper has selected Liquid Wind to lead the development of the NorthStarH2 project in Östersund, Sweden. Each plant is projected to save approximately 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to the yearly emissions output of about 43,500 cars.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc acted as financial advisor to Liquid Wind on the capital raise.

About Liquid Wind

Liquid Wind is a leading developer of eFuel production facilities with a vision to reduce the world’s dependency on fossil fuel. Liquid Wind has a solid pipeline of facility projects in development with the goal of reaching 10 projects by 2027. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden and present in Denmark, Finland and the UK, Liquid Wind has approx. 75 employees. Liquid Wind has a strong group of investors, including Alfa Laval, Carbon Clean, Elyse Energy, Hycap, Samsung, Siemens Energy, Topsoe and Uniper.

About Uniper

Düsseldorf-based Uniper is a European energy company with global reach and activities in more than 40 countries. With approximately 7,400 employees, the company makes an important contribution to security of supply in Europe, particularly in its core markets of Germany, the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Uniper’s operations encompass power generation in Europe, global energy trading, and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas—including liquefied natural gas (LNG)—and other energy sources on global markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 7 billion cubic meters.

Uniper intends to be completely carbon-neutral by 2040. Uniper aims for its installed power generating capacity to be more than 80% zero-carbon by the early 2030s. To achieve this, the company is transforming its power plants and facilities and investing in flexible, dispatchable power generating units. Uniper is already one of Europe’s largest operators of hydropower plants and is helping further expand solar and wind power, which are essential for a more sustainable and secure future. The company is progressively expanding its gas portfolio to include green gases like hydrogen and biomethane and aims to convert to these gases over the long term.

Uniper is a reliable partner for communities, municipal utilities, and industrial enterprises for planning and implementing innovative, lower-carbon solutions on their decarbonization journey. Uniper is a hydrogen pioneer, is active worldwide along the entire hydrogen value chain, and is conducting projects to make hydrogen a mainstay of the energy supply.

For more information, please visit uniper.energy

About HYCAP GROUP

HYCAP Group is a UK-based net zero asset management company dedicated to investing in and promoting sustainable and clean energy solutions. With a focus on achieving net zero emissions, HYCAP aims to drive the transition to a greener and more sustainable future. Portfolio companies within HYCAP Group include Wrightbus, which manufactures EV and hydrogen fuel cell buses; Ryze, which transports and distributes renewable energy; Hygen, a hydrogen production facility; Liquid Wind, a green electrofuel development company, and Yamna, a global green hydrogen platform.

For more information, please visit hycapgroup.com

About Samsung Ventures

Samsung Ventures is the corporate venture arm of the Samsung group. It has multiple investment funds primarily from Samsung’s business units and Samsung affiliated companies, and its investment areas span various domains including semiconductors, AI, consumer electronics, metaverse, digital health, enterprise solutions, life sciences, sustainability, and more.

Nowadays, Samsung Ventures is especially focusing on investing in sustainability solutions to fulfill its social responsibilities and to help create new business opportunities. Samsung Ventures seeks to expand its partner ecosystem in this space.

For more information, please visit samsungventure.co.kr

Originally published on 21 November by Liquid Wind.

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