Following the parliamentary decision to introduce a new financing scheme for green industrial projects, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries has issued a consultation on the scheme. The government sought input for a new financing scheme for a green industry.
Norsk Industri and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) have involved many members in the preparation of the consultation response and received a lot of feedback and many good viewpoints on the design of the scheme.
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'When a new scheme is developed, it is important that it complements the rest of the toolset. The scheme must be developed to support scaling companies that, due to lack of collateral, do not easily obtain regular bank loans in the short term,' says Acting CEO Knut E. Sunde.
The scheme will provide financing for projects with higher risk than what is acceptable under the General Guarantee Scheme under Eksfin, and may include a state aid element. This scheme will also not overlap with existing schemes from Nysnø and Innovation Norway.
The target group should be companies and industrial projects expected to make significant contributions to Norwegian exports and greenhouse gas reductions, directly or indirectly. The scope of the scheme should cover all parts of relevant value chains, including the production of finished products, parts, technical solutions, and inputs.
The scheme should apply from the point where an industrial company has already developed and qualified its products, and where there is a need to scale up production. The need for the scheme lies primarily in the fact that regular banks are unwilling to lend to industrial projects in such a scaling phase, where the need for security is significant but where the opportunity for security is limited. This applies, for example, to the need for bridge financing before a cash flow is established that can provide security for the loan, during the buildup of production, or the need for delivery guarantees to the customer when the business has not yet delivered products or lacks liquidity.
The scheme should be able to provide guarantees, loans, or both. Norsk Industri reminds of the short time remaining until 2030 and the high pace seen in many other countries to cut emissions and develop competitive solutions for this. This new scheme could be an important scheme for the development of Norwegian green industry.
More information:
Norsk Industri
www.norskindustri.no