A family dynasty just saved Europe's biggest green steel project – is this a new trend in climate finance?
16 apr. 2026
07:00
Europe's climate tech scale ups are struggling to raise late-stage capital, as governments step back and institutional capital remains locked up.
Family dynasties and foundations are moving increasingly moving in to fill the gap.
"We take a long-term view," Leif Johansson tells Impact Loop, just after being picked by the Wallenberg family to chair the board of Stegra following its €1.4bn funding round.
Family dynasties and foundations are moving increasingly moving in to fill the gap.
"We take a long-term view," Leif Johansson tells Impact Loop, just after being picked by the Wallenberg family to chair the board of Stegra following its €1.4bn funding round.
Stegra spent months knocking on the Swedish government's door – and didn't get much back.
When the green steel startup revealed last autumn it needed over $2bn more to finish its plant in Boden, Sweden's response was a $41m grant, roughly a quarter of what Stegra had applied for. And it was conditional on the company proving it had secured enough private capital by spring 2026.