20.05.2025 | Case | Nordic SME | Renewable energy | Global
The Swedish company Baseload Capital expands geothermal capacity in countries from the Arctic to the Equator. Financing from Nefco has supported the company in different growth stages.
“Geothermal energy has been used to generate electricity for over a hundred years, but it has always been a small industry. It has never been scaled up,” explains Alexander Helling, CEO of Baseload Capital. “Our goal is to change that.”
Geothermal energy is natural thermal energy extracted from the Earth. It is considered renewable and, unlike fossil fuel plants, geothermal plants need no heating fuels or boilers. Geothermal energy can be used for heating and cooling, both through direct use and via heat pumps, as well as generating electricity, such as by using steam to drive turbines. Some Nordic regions have become world leaders in the technology: in Iceland, geothermal energy provides 25 per cent of the country’s electricity and 66 per cent of all primary energy.
Need for renewable baseload energy
In 2024, over 90 per cent of global power expansion was renewable. However, most of that additional capacity was wind and solar, which are intermittent sources of energy. Energy storage, such as batteries and power-to-x solutions, is still relatively expensive and undeveloped.
“The world needs baseload energy, something that is reliable and steady and that can handle society’s basic needs 24/7. Wind and solar power are dependent upon variable conditions, whereas geothermal energy provides stable and predictable baseload energy, serving as a great complement to other renewable energy sources,” says Victor Degerlund, Senior Investment Officer at Nefco.
Other options for baseload energy production are problematic. Coal, oil and natural gas are polluting fossil fuels. Nuclear plants can be expensive and controversial. Building new dams for hydropower can result in the displacement of people and damage nature.
“Geothermal energy is unique because it is constant, predictable and clean, and it can be used as baseload,” Degerlund continues. “From the very beginning, Nefco was interested in Baseload Capital’s ambitions to harness the under-utilised potential of geothermal energy and especially the company’s focus on low-temperature geothermal projects. While higher-temperature sources might be more accessible and more commonly utilised, demonstrating the benefits of lower temperature sources is of significant interest and could enable the development of geothermal projects at a wider scale. Since its formation, Baseload Capital has been keenly focused on setting up the frameworks and capabilities needed to manage and develop projects across the globe to unlock the benefits of geothermal energy in the most efficient way possible.”
A long relationship with Nefco
“In terms of geothermal, low and medium temperature normally means temperatures from about 120 to 250 degrees Celsius. This technology is well developed and has become more efficient,” says Helling. “The real challenge we are working to solve is that of capital and development capabilities.”
Baseload Capital was founded in 2018 as an investing entity for renewable energy projects using the Swedish company Climeon’s low-temperature technology. Even before the company was officially founded Helling was talking to experts at Nefco, and that relationship is still going strong.
“Nefco has been with us from the beginning,” he says. “We first received a loan in 2019 to help us expand outside of the Nordics. In 2022, Nefco participated in a financing round with other investors. Part of the loans provided under the financing round were later converted into equity. Another entity administered by Nefco, the Nordic Project Fund (Nopef), awarded us a few grants to study a potential expansion into Taiwan and Indonesia.”
With the help of the Nopef grant, Baseload Capital established operations in Taiwan, which has since become one of its key markets. The company recently announced a collaboration with Google, under which Baseload Capital will provide renewable energy for data centres in Taiwan.
Currently Baseload Capital operates in Iceland, Japan, Taiwan and the United States, places that encourage geothermal projects and are geologically favourable. While a geothermal plant can be built anywhere, it is most efficient to locate them close to the edges of tectonic plates, where the Earth’s thermal energy can be tapped more easily.
Big investors and big dreams
“We began with a few pilot projects to prove our ability and learn best practices,” says Helling. “Now we are working on commercial-size projects, typically of 5-30 MWs. Our headquarters are here in Sweden, but we have local development teams in each country. We are building portfolios of projects and a pipeline of ventures for the future.”
Baseload Capital is a major geothermal evangelist, not just to politicians and executives but also children: the company published a book, Our Hidden Powers, to promote awareness of the potential of geothermal energy. Over the period that Nefco and Baseload Capital have collaborated, the company has gained momentum and attracted major international investors to help make its clean energy dream a reality, such as the Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the infrastructure fund ENGF.
“Nefco has been very supportive of us from Day One. They have been responsive and easy to work with and always listen to our needs,” Helling says.
“I encourage other Nordic companies to get in touch with them. Even if they can’t help themselves, they have many other contacts like Nopef and the Nordic Investment Bank. Many Nordic companies don’t realise these resources are available.”
Alexander Helling, CEO of Baseload Capital
Text: David J. Cord
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