The European Investment Bank and French state-backed lender Bpifrance have agreed two new financing operations worth €550 million to support renewable energy projects and French companies working in security and defence.
The package includes €400 million to help accelerate the roll-out of renewable power and €150 million earmarked for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap companies in the security and defence sectors, the EIB informed on Friday.
It said the latest commitments take the total amount made available to companies in the two sectors through this partnership to more than €1.1 billion.
The renewable energy element is a new €500 million tranche under a framework financing agreement, focused mainly on solar photovoltaic projects, onshore wind and electricity storage.
Photovoltaic refers to technology that converts sunlight into electricity using solar panels.
The new tranche brings total EIB support for the programme implemented by Bpifrance to €1 billion.
More funding for security and defence firms
The second operation increases financing by €150 million specifically for defence, on top of an existing €500 million allocation for general financing of French SMEs and mid-cap companies with a focus on innovation, the EIB said.
The total for this part of the programme now stands at €650 million, including €500 million for general financing and €150 million for defence.
“This new funding demonstrates the ability of the EIB and Bpifrance to address key European priorities,” said Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.
Bpifrance said the agreements cover both financing for SMEs in security and defence and funding for renewable energy development.
“Thanks to the EIB’s support, Bpifrance is able to step up its efforts to finance the real economy,” said Pascal Lagarde, Executive Director for International Affairs, Strategy, Research and Development at Bpifrance.
