The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) have approved €543m in business and clean energy investment.
The €543m of new financing will support business financing in Italy, corporate innovation and expansion of the Fira de Barcelona exhibition centre, alongside clean energy investment.
Among these projects are €53m of financing for a new solar powered large scale green hydrogen plant in Spain that will provide a clean energy alternative for energy intensive industrial production.
In addition, the board of directors approved today the new EIB Strategic European Security Initiative to continue investment in the European dual-use technologies and civilian security infrastructure.
To strengthen energy security and make Europe less dependent on fossil fuels, the EIB will work closely with the European Commission and EU member states to accelerate financing for renewables, energy efficiency and electricity networks.
EIB president Werner Hoyer also confirmed that the first two disbursements, totalling €129m of the bank’s Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response had already taken place, with further disbursements scheduled for the coming days.
Today’s regular March EIB Board meeting followed an extraordinary meeting, convened last Friday, that approved €668m of immediate financial support to Ukraine.
This initial support package is helping the Ukrainian authorities to meet most urgent financial needs by speeding up the disbursement under two loans originally granted to support SMEs and the agricultural sector in Ukraine.