EIB Group’s Strong Growth in France: €12 Billion Investment Spurred by Climate Action, Innovation, and Sustainable Infrastructure

EIB Group’s Strong Growth in France: €12 Billion Investment Spurred by Climate Action, Innovation, and Sustainable Infrastructure

(IN BRIEF) In 2023, the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group experienced robust growth in France, providing nearly €12 billion in long-term financing to the private sector and local and regional authorities. This included €10.6 billion from the EIB and €1.4 billion from the European Investment Fund (EIF), primarily aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). France was the second-largest beneficiary of EIB Group financing in Europe, with a focus on climate change mitigation, innovation, public facilities, and strengthening EU sovereignty. Notably, the EIB invested significantly in renewable energy, semiconductor technology, health and life sciences, digital infrastructure, and sustainable public infrastructure projects. Additionally, the EIF played a crucial role in supporting SMEs and fostering competitiveness in various sectors. The EIB Group’s efforts in France underscore its commitment to advancing green and sustainable initiatives while promoting economic growth and job creation.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 2-Feb-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — The EIB Group experienced strong growth in France in 2023, with nearly €12 billion in long-term financing granted directly or indirectly to the private sector and local and regional authorities: €10.6 billion from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and €1.4 billion from the European Investment Fund (EIF), which focuses on financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In Europe, France was the second-largest beneficiary of EIB Group financing last year. It was the largest market for the EIF in 2023 by number of transactions and the third-largest by financing amount.

The main areas of activity of the European Union’s public bank in France in 2023 were loans for combating climate change and adapting to its adverse effects, for supporting innovation and public facilities, and for sectors helping to strengthen EU sovereignty and strategic autonomy.

“The EIB Group’s results in France last year reflect strong momentum and significant growth in volumes,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “They confirm our role in supporting investment in a challenging economic environment. The increase in our financing for the green and energy transition enables us to attract more private investment in support of EU priorities. Our loans in key and innovative sectors such as renewable energy, semiconductors and electric batteries all contribute to the European Union’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. More broadly, our financing in these sectors but also in education, health, transport and public infrastructure has a real impact on people’s lives.”

“With €1.4 billion invested in SMEs last year, the EIF’s activity in France was marked by strong demand, making it one of our most active markets and the largest market in Europe by number of transactions,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “The EIF is a vital tool for the development of more competitive, greener and more digital SMEs through its essential bank guarantee business, which encourages financial intermediaries to take more risks, and its contributions to many investment funds that are now largely focused on clean technology and the green transition.”

France top beneficiary of EIB climate and environment financing

With 64% of its lending volume devoted to climate action and environmental sustainability, France was the largest beneficiary of EIB financing in this area in 2023. This resulted in an overall investment of €6.9 billion in renewable energy, clean mobility and energy efficiency.

In 2023, the Bank invested €3.9 billion in France under REPowerEU, an EU initiative to reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition.

Some of the flagship climate action projects in 2023 included several operations under the InvestEU investment support programme that aims to mobilise more than €372 billion in public and private financing across Europe by 2027. These were a €450 million loan to finance AESC’s electric vehicle battery gigafactory in Douai, and €250 million for energy company Sorégies for renewable energy and distribution network upgrades. The EIB contributed €150 million to the first issue of green bonds for automotive supplier Valeo and invested €442 million to develop Engie’s new heating and cooling networks at 16 locations in France.

Increased support for all innovation

Innovation is another essential part of all activity in France. Investment in this area reached €3.9 billion last year. In the semiconductor industry, which is vital for strengthening the European Union’s strategic autonomy in a sector where it still relies too heavily on foreign supplies, the EIB provided €750 million to GlobalFoundries. This investment will help finance its gigafactory in Crolles (Isère). The factory will produce large-scale FDSOI chips requiring less energy. These chips are used in many sectors including the automotive sector, the internet of things (IoT) and mobile devices.

The EIB continued to invest in the health and life sciences sector by financing four medtechs in 2023, with a total of €95 million: Germitec (technology for the disinfection of medical probes with ultraviolet light), SafeHeal (postoperative treatment of colon cancer), Quantum Surgical (surgical robot for removing liver cancer tumours) and Wandercraft (walking exoskeleton for medical rehabilitation).

In digital infrastructure, the EIB provided €500 million to support the deployment of Orange’s 4G and 5G mobile networks, €300 million for Iliad’s 5G networks, and €150 million for investments under Auvergne Numérique’s ultra-fast internet plan. The EIB also granted a €250 million loan to Amadeus, the world leader in technology for the travel industry, for its investments in IT research and development.

Supporting sustainable public sector investments

As a partner of local and regional authorities, the EIB spent €4.5 billion on more sustainable public infrastructure investments (42% of financing) in 2023. This included €2.3 billion for public transport, the sector which received the most EIB loans in France last year. The EIB is also providing €1 billion to help finance Line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express metro. With a total length of 33 km, the line will cross 22 municipalities and serve more than 1 million people living in the Ile-de-France area. It is expected to be brought into service at the end of 2025. The EIB is also supporting Nantes, Strasbourg and Tours in their urban transport projects. In rail transport, it has signed financing agreements with the Centre-Val de Loire, Grand Est, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Sud regions for a total of €825 million.

In the education sector, which has seen rapid growth with more than €900 million in investment in 2023, it will help finance the CentraleSupélec campus in Saclay and the INSEAD campus in Fontainebleau. In secondary education, the EIB will finance school construction and renovation projects for lower secondary schools in five departments and upper secondary schools in Ile-de-France.

The EIB also signed two new intermediated loan packages with the Caisse des Dépôts group in 2023 totalling €1 billion: €500 million for the construction of social housing and €500 million to finance the public facilities of local authorities.

€1.4 billion from the EIF for small and medium businesses

Dedicated to supporting SMEs through bank guarantees and investment funds, the EIF, a subsidiary of the EIB Group, invested €1.4 billion in France last year, accounting for 9.4% of its total financing. The 20 bank guarantee operations mobilised €689 million. The 24 venture capital fund investment operations provided €674 million for startups specialising in infrastructure, deep tech, clean technology and regenerative agriculture.

In total and including all activities, the EIB Group directly or indirectly supported more than 52 000 SMEs in France in 2023, helping to safeguard 450 000 jobs.

Annual EIB Investment Survey

Climate change is increasingly becoming a reality for French companies. Almost nine out of ten (89%) of them are taking action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and 61% of companies surveyed believe climate events have an impact on their business. But fewer than four in ten (36%) have taken steps to strengthen their resilience to climate risks. Energy costs (84%), the availability of skilled staff (83%) and uncertainty about the future (80%) were identified as the main long-term barriers to investment.

Background information

About the EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its 27 Member States. It makes finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the EIB Group. Its main goal is to help SMEs to access financing. The EIF designs and deploys venture capital, growth capital, guarantee and microfinance instruments specifically targeted at this market segment. Its activities foster EU objectives promoting innovation, research and development, enterprise creation, growth, and job creation.

Media Contact:

Christophe Alix
c.alix@eib.org
+352 4379 – 84303

Press Office

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank