European Investment Bank boosts financial support for green and innovative projects
2022 was a successful year for the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group in Germany, with overall financing increasing by 20% to €6.61 billion compared with the previous year.
With the new government dedicated to greening the economy, both private and public companies turned to the EIB for support for long-term investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
EIB projects are diverse. In 2022, the EU bank invested in new trams and trains and in innovative battery trains that will replace diesel locomotives in the greater Berlin area. The EU-bank financed wind farms and invested in the upgrade of power grids with TenneT. It invested into Vaillant`s RDI and new production lines for heat pumps and into PBT`s factory for car battery materials.
Werner Hoyer, President, EIB: “In Germany, we have observed a growing interest in projects that contribute to the green transition of industry. With energy security being high on the political agenda since Putin attacked Ukraine, we hope that the trend towards renewable energy will become even stronger. Becoming independent from fossil fuels will help us to become independent from autocracies like Russia, while at the same time protecting the climate.”
In Germany, the EIB has already exceeded its overall target of devoting at least 50% of its total annual financing to climate and environmental action by 2025, reaching more than two thirds in 2022.
It also supported the energy-efficient modernisation of affordable and social housing with the public housing company hanova. This was the first project in Germany financed under the European Union’s InvestEU programme. InvestEU backs EIB Group loans with guarantees provided via the EU budget. It builds on the previous Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker Plan (EFSI).
Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President, EIB: “We are proud to have given a boost to the green transition in 2022. We will continue to invest in protecting the climate in the years to come too.”
Another focus of the EIB Group in 2022 was innovation. For example, it financed AI-based exoskeletons that help construction workers lift heavy loads, improving workplace safety. In the life sciences sector, the bank financed the startup Numares, which has developed a tool to analyse blood and urine samples for a variety of infectious diseases by modifying PCR technology, the well-known COVID-19 testing technology.
Through its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), it support smaller startups, mostly in cooperation with private investors such as the Green Generation Fund, which is run by women and specialises in the food industry.
Startup financing via the EIF has been a success in Germany. Of the €6.61 billion in EIB Group investments in 2022, about €1 billion was invested via the EIF.
In 2022, EIB Group financing in Germany mainly went towards projects in the categories sustainable energy and natural resources (€2.276 billion) and innovation, digital and human capital (€2.566 billion), representing 75% of total financing in the country. Innovation, digital and human capital also covers climate-related innovation.
Sustainable cities and regions, the category under which the battery train project falls, received €828 million, while SME financing amounted to €942 million in 2022.
