The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) has announced that it will increase its financing volumes for clean energy to a fresh record and expand its targeted, extraordinary support to the build-up of manufacturing capacity for state-of-the-art strategic net-zero technologies and products. Approved on July 12, 2023, the package will make "a substantial contribution" to the objectives outlined in the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age.
At its July meeting in Luxembourg, the EIB’s Board of Directors decided to raise the additional funds earmarked for projects aligned with REPowerEU, the plan designed to end Europe’s dependence on fossil-fuel imports, to EUR 45 billion.
The additional funding comes on top of the EIB’s existing support for clean investments and represents a 50 percent increase compared to the original EUR 30 billion package announced in October 2022.
Critical raw materials are an eligible sector
The EIB Board also decided to broaden the scope of eligible sectors to boost financing for EU manufacturing in state-of-the-art strategic net-zero technologies and the extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials.
The additional funding will be deployed by 2027 and, in total, is expected to mobilize more than EUR 150 billion in investment for the targeted sectors.
Sectors expected to benefit from EIB support for state-of-the-art manufacturing include solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, onshore and offshore wind, battery and storage, heat pumps and geothermal technologies, electrolyzers and fuel cells, sustainable biogas, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and grid technologies.
Also eligible are investments related to the extraction, processing, and recycling of related critical raw materials.
We are deploying the full range of our available financial firepower to support Europe’s industrial competitiveness, manufacturing, and the rollout of critical technologies that will lead us to a swift and just transition to net zero. The people of our Union can always count on the unwavering support of their Bank, said Werner Hoyer, President of EIB.
Lending for new projects
The EIB’s Board of Directors also approved EUR 10 billion in new lending for projects. The approvals include new wind and solar generation in Spain and Austria, grid upgrades in Italy, and an electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing Gigafactory in France. Overall, the EIB is well on track to deliver on its announced REPowerEU support measures.
The Board also approved a comprehensive EUR 400 million support package to restore drinking water, wastewater treatment, stormwater infrastructure, and basic services in towns and cities in southeastern Turkey devasted in the February earthquakes.
Also outside the EU, the Board approved financing for a new electricity interconnector between Ecuador and Peru and streamlined financing for small-scale clean energy and green transition projects across Africa.
