Stegra CEO breaks silence – rejects crisis talk: "Moving full speed ahead"

Appearing at the Fossil Free Sweden conference in Stockholm, Stegra's CEO Henrik Henriksson addressed rumours that Stegra’s €860m funding shortfall could derail its green-steel plant in Boden, northern Sweden.

"It’s perhaps more exciting to talk about it as if it were a crisis, but it isn’t," he told the audience, including Impact Loop. "There are, however, areas where we’d appreciate more support."

The remark referred to Stegra’s renewed bid for government aid – support it lost earlier this year amid tightening state funding rules for industrial projects.

"Blown out of proportion"

The comments come after a turbulent few weeks for the company. In addition to the financing gap, multiple government agencies – including the police – carried out inspections at Stegra’s construction site earlier this week as part of an investigation into suspected labour exploitation among subcontractors.

Until now, Henriksson had kept his distance, declining repeated interview requests, including from Impact Loop. On stage on Thursday, however, he appeared calm and defiant.

"Things are being taken out of proportion, as if the money has run out – but that’s not the case," he said. "We’re moving full speed ahead with our project and have the funds to keep doing so," he said.

He added that construction in Boden is progressing steadily, with roughly one percent of the facility completed each week.

According to Henriksson, around half of Stegra’s total financing has already been secured through existing investors. The company is now talking to the banks – Henriksson said he recently was in a room with "170 bankers in London."

A political ping-pong ball

Henriksson also weighed in on the political storm swirling around Stegra – and, more broadly, Sweden’s green-industrial push.

"It’s about north versus south, fossil versus renewable, left versus right,” he said. “We’ve somehow ended up in the middle – and now people are treating us like a ping-pong ball.”

When asked how he’s handling the personal pressure, Henriksson admitted it hasn’t been easy.

"It’s great to be here – there’s a lot of positive energy and many people who see the same opportunities that we do. But sure, it can feel a bit lonely at times. Sometimes it seems more important for some that things go badly for someone else than that they go well for me."