Stockholm based climate investment fund, Baseload Capital, has raised $24Million in new financing, corresponding to 250Million Swedish kronor. Behind the convertible loan are both existing and new investors, among them Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
“The Earth’s heat can deliver renewable energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So, it is no wonder more and more large investors see the potential in what we do. We are happy that our partners are supporting us as we continue our fast-paced growth,” says Baseload Capital’s CEO Alexander Helling.
This round of financing, amounting to $24Million, is one of the more substantial within the impact sector in Sweden. “Together with a credit facility of $25Million secured in the spring, Baseload Capital has raised just over half a billion Swedish kronor this year”, says a company statement. “This is comparable to last year’s fifth-largest funding round in the impact sector, to go by an influential listing in Dagens Industri, Sweden’s top business newspaper”.
Chevron Technology Ventures, the venture arm of the American oil major; Gullspång Invest and Breakthrough Energy Venturesare some of the investors in Baseload Capital’s financing round. Breakthrough Energy invests in technologies needed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and was founded by Bill Gates in 2015. The additional investors in the latest round are the energy technology company Baker Hughes and Nefco, the Nordic Green Bank. “Geothermal energy is an ideal source of stable, renewable base energy that complements solar and wind. It will be a crucial piece of the puzzle when the world needs to rapidly switch to a sustainable energy supply,” says Magnus Brandberg, Baseload Capital’s Chairman of the Board, and co-founder of Gullspång Invest.
Baseload Capital works closely with local affiliates to finance, plan and build facilities for extracting geothermal energy – the heat stored in the Earth’s interior. Unlike other forms of renewable energy, such as solar or wind, geothermal energy functions independently of the weather or daily fluctuations. It is therefore well suited for supplying large energy systems with a so-called base load – a constant electricity supply needed for a stable system. In addition to base power, the subsurface water can also be used to extract minerals such as lithium, creating an ecosystem of added benefits for the planet.
The $25Million credit facility secured by Baseload Capital this spring came from London-based Sustainable Development Capital. The credit provides flexible financing for commissioning new geothermal power plants, while the new convertible loan is intended for Baseload Capital’s continued expansion. Some of this capital will also be used to redeem the company’s green bond.
The involvement of companies like Chevron, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, and Baker Hughes, a global leader in energy technologies means that, as the use of geothermal energy increases, the expertise of these companies in deep drilling and geology will be vital for rapidly expanding Baseload Capital’s capacity.
