Einride, which operates electric, self-driving trucks, is about to close a new round of funding of USD 100 million, equivalent to SEK 1.1 billion. The main investor will be the US giant Type One Ventures. Previous owners, such as EQT Ventures, Norrsken and Nordic Ninja, will also participate in the financing round. Einride is looking for more funding and is close to securing a Series C round of around USD 100 million, which is expected to close in the next few weeks.
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is investing in its facility in Braås, home to the company's leading range of articulated dump trucks, in a clear signal of its commitment to lead the transformation of all its products towards a more sustainable future. The investment of SEK 360 million will accelerate the gradual transition to electrification of Volvo's frame-controlled dump trucks. The investment will also be used to expand the production capacity of the 45,000 m2 facility to expand the future product range and add new buildings and production equipment. The facility will be modified to enable the manufacture of a larger range of dump trucks with different types of powertrains. Volvo Construction Equipment will also invest in automation and ergonomics to reduce the need for employees to perform repetitive tasks and create a safer working environment.
Andel and Nature Energy are investing DKK 100 million in a new Power-to-X plant that will boost production of green biogas starting in the summer of 2023. The Power-to-X plant will be built in Glansager on Als and produce Danish biogas. The process involves capturing the methane and carbon dioxide released from organic materials, particularly waste from households, industry and agriculture. The plant also includes an electrolysis unit that splits the gas into hydrogen and oxygen when electricity is added to the water. As with other Power-to-X plants, the Glansager facility will be powered by surplus electricity from renewable sources, such as wind turbines, when production is higher than consumption. Since the electrolysis plant can be operated flexibly, it can be activated and produce green biogas when there is excess power.
Through the joint venture Koppö Energia oy, CPC Finland and the German company Prime Capital are planning to build a hydrogen plant with the capacity of 200 MW in Karhusaari. CPC Finland plans to spend EUR 450 million for this purpose. The plan is also for approximately 80% of the electricity needed to operate the hydrogen plant to come from the company’s own green energy production, i.e. wind power, which CPC Finland has already built and will continue to build in the vicinity of the facility. The company says the licensing process for the hydrogen plant is already underway. However, before building the facility, the company needs a plan change, an environmental impact assessment (i.e. environmental permit) and a chemical permit. A water extraction permit is already in place for the area. The final investment decision for the facility has not yet been made, but CPC Finland’s CEO, Erik Trast, said the lease and cooperation agreement for the Karhusaari area could soon be completed. If Trast's estimated timeline is true, construction of the hydrogen plant could begin in the second half of 2024. Trast further estimates that construction of the plant will take about a year.
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.