Sunfire, one of HydrogenOne’s largest investments, has secured €200m in guaranteed financing. The financing is provided by a consortium led by Commerzbank and other leading German and European commercial banks. The consortium includes, in addition to Commerzbank, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, LBBW and Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden.

The guarantee line arranged by Commerzbank will be used to secure customer advance payments as well as contract fulfilment and warranty obligations. 80% of the loan amount is secured by parallel default guarantees from the German Federal Government and the Free State of Saxony, with the remaining 20% provided by the banks themselves. The guarantee financing has a term of five years.

The instrument eliminates the need for Sunfire to provide cash collateral. As a result, the German electrolysis specialist can secure industrial projects and customer orders financially more efficient. It also allows Sunfire to utilise advance payments received for the production of electrolysers more effectively – without tying up its own funds as collateral.

It will enable Sunfire to progress several customer projects in parallel, thereby driving forward the development of the hydrogen market.

Frank Posnanski, CFO of Sunfire said: “With the guarantee line, we can not only realise existing projects, but also drive industrial scaling with our own financial resources. The support demonstrates confidence in young companies and future-oriented technologies. It is a signal that Germany is determined to make its industry sustainable and fit for the future.”

HGEN : HydrogenOne’s Sunfire gets €200m of guaranteed funding