PRESS RELEASE
22/03/2021
Danish state makes a profit selling Seaborg shares
Current investors including Heartland and Team Europe expand their ownership of Danish nuclear company Seaborg Technologies, bringing a significant profit to the Danish taxpayers.
Seaborg Technologies is developing an inherently safe 4th generation nuclear Compact Molten Salt Reactor (CMSR). Seaborg and its South Korean partners aim to bring floating CMSR power barges to market by 2025.
The Danish state has been an investor in Seaborg since January 2018 but is now selling their shares due to major reforms of subsidies for startups and innovation. It was originally PreSeed Ventures – today an institutional VC but formerly a public venture-arm for two decades – who led the state's investment in Seaborg.
Their Investment Director, Alexander Viterbo-Horten, who has worked closely with the Seaborg founder team explains:
“We believe it is crucial to nurture and support the development of deep tech startups like Seaborg, who have the capacity to positively impact the future for all of us. We are incredibly proud to have supported Troels and his team from the early days until today where new investors recognize the potential and step in for the next part of the journey.”
“It has been great to have PreSeed Ventures involved at an early stage and we are grateful for their support and dedication throughout the years. We are happy and proud to be able to acknowledge this courage with a significant return on investment to Denmark”, says Troels Schønfeldt.
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Director of investment firm HEARTLAND, Lise Kaae, elaborates on the decision to purchase the state's shares:
“We are pleased to pick up the baton from PreSeed Ventures, and to have the opportunity to expand our investment in Seaborg. The private sector has a crucial role to play when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. At HEARTLAND we are happy to take yet another step closer to what we believe is a possible sustainable solution concerning future energy challenges. We have great confidence in Seaborg both technologically and commercially, and our investment is a recognition of the company's ambition.”
Alongside the major investment in November 2020, Seaborg increased its financial capacity by receiving two loans from the Danish state’s investment fund Vaekstfonden.
Senior Relationship Manager at Vaekstfonden, Peter Bo, says:
“At Vaekstfonden we want to help drive and develop innovation. Seaborg wants to innovate the ways we produce energy today. It is important that we have companies challenging the status quo with new technologies and solutions. Seaborg is a great example of that, and therefore we are pleased to be able to support the company’s journey through loans.”
“Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time. 80 % of the energy used today is made from burning fossil fuels. Our mission is to change that. We are aiming at mass-producing floating nuclear power plants using our compact molten salt reactor technology”,
says Seaborg co-founder and CEO Troels Schønfeldt and continues:
“Our technology will be cheaper than gas and coal. That is crucial if we want to stop the heavy buildup of fossil fuel in many areas around the world where renewable energy faces challenges due to poor meteorological conditions, like in South East Asia. One of our smaller CMSR power plants will mitigate around 33,600,000 tonnes of CO2 in its 24-year life span. "
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About PreSeed Ventures
For more than two decades, PreSeed Ventures has scouted, mentored and funded Danish success stories like Vivino, Trustpilot and Lunar. They have ventured into the future alongside more than 400 founders ranging from the brilliant to the slightly mad and supported their personal, collective and professional growth. It is fair to say PreSeed Ventures is among the most notable early-stage investor in the Danish tech community, which today is thriving more than ever.
About Vaekstfonden
Vaeksfonden is the Danish state’s investment fund. Working in close collaboration with banks and domestic and international investors, Vaekstfonden discovers and develops the companies that Denmark cannot afford to miss out on. The power of innovation, yield to society and responsibility are the three signposts that guide Vaekstfonden in finding and choosing new projects. Since 1992, Vaekstfonden has contributed more than DKK 33,8 billion to help develop and grow more than 9.200 companies.
About Seaborg Technologies ApSÂ
Seaborg Technologies is a nuclear reactor company on a mission to create a clean and safe energy technology that can out-compete fossil fuels and revolutionize energy markets. The company goal is to execute a rapid worldwide deployment of the Compact Molten Salt Reactor via shipyard serial production of power barges. The ambitious plan is to bring the first CMSR Power barge into service in 2025. Its headquarters and R&D facilities are located in Copenhagen, Denmark.
About Seaborg’s CMSR technology
Seaborg is developing an inherently safe 4th generation nuclear Compact Molten Salt Reactor (CMSR) with an essential proprietary moderator. With its uranium-based fluoride fuel salt, the CMSR has several prominent features; it cannot melt down or explode, it cannot release radioactive gasses to air or water, and it cannot be used for nuclear weapons.
About Seaborg’s CMSR power barge
The CMSR will be installed on modular power barges, providing clean and affordable electricity worldwide. The power barge design is enabling configurations with two, four, six, or eight CMSRs delivering up to 800 MW-electric or 2000 MW-thermal. The first power barges will have two reactors installed delivering 2 x 100 MW-electric for the 24-year lifetime of the power barge. The CMSR Power barge is competitive whether it plugs into the grid in an existing coal port or power production of hydrogen and ammonia.