Everfuel and Hy24 join hands for hydrogen infrastructure development

Everfuel, a Danish green hydrogen provider, and Hy24, managing a clean hydrogen infrastructure fund, have partnered up for the creation of a joint venture (JV) to finance the development of electrolyser capacity across the Nordics.

The agreement includes plans to invest a total of €200 million in equity in green hydrogen infrastructure in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This is supposed to enable the JV to fund, build, own, and operate up to 1 GW of green hydrogen projects.

The JV will be named Everfuel Hy24 and fully consolidated in Everfuel’s accounts.

Everfuel will own 51% of the joint venture and the Hy24-managed Clean H2 Infra Fund will own 49%.

Everfuel said that, under the agreement, the JV will deliver revenue and cash flow to Everfuel through fees during the project development, construction, and operation phases.

Everfuel will also be entitled to defined development fees from the JV for projects reaching the final investment decision (FID) based on the return profile of each specific project and it retains an exclusive right to market merchant hydrogen volumes from the electrolysers owned and operated by the JV to support the growth of Everfuel’s downstream business activities.

According to Everfuel, the JV’s first investment is to acquire the HySynergy Phase 1 – 20 MW green hydrogen production plant in Fredericia, Denmark for a purchase price reflecting the costs incurred at signing, fewer grants received, subject to adjustment for additional costs incurred up until closing.

With the transfer of HySynergy Phase 1 to the JV, Everfuel said it will repay the €10 million loan provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Hy24 will also provide a bridge loan of €15 million to JV that is expected to be replaced with a larger facility from external debt providers as HySynergy Phase 2 is matured.

Everfuel holds an option to purchase Hy24’s shares in the JV at a pre-agreed return within a specified time period.

The HySynergy Phase 1 electrolyser is expected to commence commercial operations in the second quarter of 2023 and is supposed to contribute to significant decarbonisation of industrial processes at the adjacent Crossbridge Energy Refinery.

HySynergy is also expected to offer a competitive supply of green hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel for clean mobility.

In December 2022, HySynergy Phase 2 – 300 MW, green hydrogen plant was granted IPCEI funding of €33.1 million to support the construction of the first of three 100 MW electrolysers.

In the same month, Everfuel announced the production of the first hydrogen at the 20 MW HySynergy facility.

Everfuel said that the JV is aligned with Hy24’s ambition of unlocking strategic and large-scale projects under development to accelerate the scale-up of hydrogen markets in Europe, in the Americas, and Asia Pacific regions.

The hydrogen plants owned and operated by the JV are supposed to support the Danish hydrogen roadmap as well.

The country is planning to develop 4 to 6 GW of electrolyser production capacity by 2030 leveraging Denmark’s wind resources, and Everfuel’s current project portfolio in Denmark includes more than 1.3 GW of electrolyser capacity.

As part of the JV incorporation, Hy24 has committed to participate in a potential future capital raise by Everfuel to support the company and the realisation of green infrastructure projects, subject to certain conditions, Everfuel said.

To note, Hy24 is investing through its €2 billion ‘Clean H2 Infra Fund’ which was closed in October 2022.

Jacob Krogsgaard, Founder and CEO of Everfuel, said: “This is a major step towards making green hydrogen commercially available through accelerated deployment of our hydrogen hubs. Hy24 is a leading global hydrogen infrastructure investor and the ideal partner and co-investor for us as the number one developer of electrolyser capacity in Europe.”

“Together we can develop green hydrogen infrastructure needed to serve rapidly growing demand from industry and mobility across our core Nordic markets, and firmly move into the ramp-up phase of our long-term plan for growth and value creation.”

Pierre-Etienne Franc, Co-Founder and CEO of Hy24, added: “We launched Hy24 and the Clean Hydrogen Infrastructure Fund to help hydrogen leaders and entrepreneurs accelerate the scale-up of their projects, and to unlock the potential for the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors.”

“Everfuel is one of the most advanced project developers with a broad knowledge of hydrogen technologies, markets, and business models in the Nordics. It is therefore the natural partner for fast and wise developments.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, commented: “I warmly welcome this important investment and the joint venture between Everfuel and Hy24. Green hydrogen and e-fuels will play a big role in decarbonising industries such as shipping, aviation, and heavy transportation. So, this is not only good news for the production of green energy in Denmark, but also for our global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.”

“The investment underlines that Danish companies are frontrunners within green technologies. It also shows that Denmark remains an attractive destination for foreign green investments thanks to competitive framework conditions, supporting both Danish and European ambitious green policies and climate goals.”