Germany: EIB Group boosts financial support for green and innovative projects (2024)

• EU climate bank increases financing in 2022 by 20% to €6.61billion.
• 75% of all financing in Germany went to innovative and climate-friendly projects.

2022 was a successful year for the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group in Germany, with overall financing increasing by 20% to €6.61billion 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. We invested into Vaillant`s RDI and new production lines for heat pumps and into PBT`s factory for car battery materials.

“In Germany, we have observed a growing interest in projects that contribute to the green transition of industry,” EIB President Werner Hoyer says. “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 alreadyexceeded its overall targetof devotingat least 50% ofits total annualfinancing to climate and environmental actionby2025, reaching more than two thirds in 2022.

We 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).

“We are proud to have given a boost to the green transition in 2022,” says EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who has oversight for the EU bank’s business in Germany. “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, we financed AI-based exoskeletons that help construction workers lift heavy loads, improving workplace safety. In the life sciences sector, we 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 our subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF), we 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 €6.61billion in EIB Group investments in 2022, about €1billion was invested via the EIF.

In 2022, EIB Group financing in Germany mainly went towards projects in the categories sustainable energy and natural resources (€2.276billion) and innovation, digital and human capital (€2.566billion), 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 €828million, while SME financing amounted to €942million in 2022.

Background information

The EIB’s activities focus on the following priority areas: climate and environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized businesses, infrastructure and cohesion. TheEIB works closely with other EU institutionsto foster European integration, promote the development of the European Union and support EU policies in over 140 countries around the world.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF contributes to the pursuit of key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability, and more.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable economy. It helps generate additional investments in line with EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2billion. This guarantee increases their risk-bearing capacity, thus mobilising at least €372billion in additional investment.

EIB and energy security: Over the past decade, the European Investment Bank Group has channelled more than €100billion into the European Union’s energy sector. These timely investments in energy efficiency, renewables, grids and storage are now helping Member States weather the crisis triggered by the abrupt cut in Russian gas supplies. In October2022, the EIB’s Board of Directors decided to raise the Group’s clean energy financing volumes in support of the REPowerEU objective of ending Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports. An additional €30billion will be invested over the next five years, on top of the EIB’s already robust support for clean energy. It is estimated that the REPowerEU package will mobilise an additional €115billion by 2027, thus making a substantial contribution to Europe’s energy independence and the EIB Group’s target to mobilise €1trillion in climate finance this decade.