The European Investment Bank and Spanish energy technology firm Ingeteam have signed a €75 million loan to fund research, development and innovation in renewable energy and electrification technologies.
Ingeteam, headquartered in Zamudio in Spain’s Basque Country, develops equipment for electrical energy conversion including power electronics, control systems and digital tools, and operates in 15 countries, the EIB noted in a statement on Monday.
The company is among Europe’s top 10 manufacturers of photovoltaic inverters — devices that convert the direct current produced by solar panels into electricity that can be used on the grid — and the agreement is its fifth financing deal with the EIB.
The loan is backed by the EU’s InvestEU programme and will support work in Ingeteam’s R&D centres in the Basque Country and Navarre, covering areas including photovoltaic inverters, energy storage systems, cybersecurity and digitalisation of electrical networks, and transport electrification.
The financing was announced at an event in Zamudio attended by EIB Group President Nadia Calviño, EIB corporate lending director for the EU Pilar Solano, and Ingeteam President Teresa Madariaga.
InvestEU-backed loan under TechEU programme
The loan is part of TechEU, which the EIB Group describes as its programme to accelerate innovation in the European Union and which it said aims to mobilise €250 billion in investments by 2027.
Calviño said the funding would help reduce dependence on non-European suppliers of renewable energy technologies while strengthening electricity grid security.
Solano stated the collaboration with Ingeteam would support the energy transition and the competitiveness of European industry.
Madariaga added that the agreement would allow Ingeteam to continue investing in R&D for solutions related to integrating clean energy and improving the efficiency, stability and reliability of electrical systems.
