Green Forum • 23 October, 2024 at 7:19 PM
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €120 million loan with Iberdrola to finance the development of research and innovation projects involving energy technologies, with the goal of backing and accelerating the electrification and decarbonization of the economy. The total investment for the project will be €250 million.
The EIB financing will boost innovation in renewable energy projects in solar photovoltaics, hydropower, and wind, together with other areas like combined power and agrivoltaics. Funds will also go towards research and development on decarbonizing demand via, for example, green hydrogen and heat pumps, and to new solutions making it easier to integrate and manage renewables, facilitating storage and optimizing energy efficiency throughout the value chain.
Power grid investment will go to projects covering digitalization, advanced data management, and power electronics to create smart grids. Initiatives aiming to improve cybersecurity and resilience on these grids will also be included. In the retail domain, the projects will contribute to the development of smart, tailored solutions to promote self-supply and electric mobility.
These initiatives are part of the company's 2024-2026 strategic plan to speed up the decarbonization of its activities and contribute to the electrification and digitalization of the global economy.
The finance contract will support economic, social, and territorial cohesion, as an estimated 27% of the total investment is set to go to regions where the income per capita is below the EU average.
In 2023, the EIB Group provided more than €21 billion in financing for energy security in Europe. In the same year, it allocated more than €4.5 billion to this goal in Spain, financing projects in areas including renewable energy, energy efficiency, power grids, and storage systems. These investments are helping Europe speed up its transition to sustainable energy and reduce its reliance on fossil fuel imports.