European Investment Bank Backs KONE with €250 Million to Advance Smart Building Mobility and Urban Infrastructure Innovation

European Investment Bank Backs KONE with €250 Million to Advance Smart Building Mobility and Urban Infrastructure Innovation

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank is providing €250 million to KONE to support a multi-year research and innovation programme focused on next-generation elevators, escalators, and intelligent people-flow technologies. Running from 2026 to 2029, the initiative aims to improve safety, efficiency, and sustainability in building mobility while advancing digital solutions for urban environments. The project reinforces Europe’s leadership in advanced building systems, supports skilled employment, and contributes to more energy-efficient infrastructure across the region.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 23-Apr-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide €250 million in financing to KONE, supporting the company’s efforts to expand its research, development, and innovation capabilities in advanced building mobility technologies. The funding will enable the development of next-generation elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and intelligent digital systems aimed at improving how people move through modern buildings and urban spaces.

The investment will underpin KONE’s research and innovation programme running from 2026 to 2029. Key areas of focus include enhancing safety standards, boosting operational performance, and increasing energy efficiency across elevator and escalator systems. At the same time, the programme will advance smart technologies designed to optimize the flow of people in increasingly dense and complex urban environments.

EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer emphasized the importance of efficient building mobility as a cornerstone of sustainable urban development, highlighting how the financing contributes to strengthening Europe’s position in advanced building technologies while supporting high-value engineering and research employment.

Headquartered in Espoo, KONE is a global leader in its sector, reporting €11.2 billion in revenue in 2025 and operating across new equipment, services, and modernization solutions worldwide. According to Johannes Rastas, the programme aligns with the company’s strategic goal of enabling smarter and more sustainable people flow in urban settings through digital innovation, improved energy performance, and reliable lifecycle management of its equipment.

The majority of the research and development activities will take place in Finland, with additional work conducted in Italy. Beyond advancing technology, the initiative is expected to sustain highly skilled jobs in research and engineering across Europe and contribute to improving the energy efficiency of buildings equipped with KONE systems.

The financing forms part of the EIB’s TechEU initiative, which is designed to support European companies developing cutting-edge technologies that reinforce industrial competitiveness, drive innovation, and enhance Europe’s global technological leadership.

Background 

EIB Group   

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects under eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investments union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructure, the EIB Group crowds in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

In 2023, the EIF together with six Member States (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) launched the European Tech Champions Initiative, a fund-of-funds to scale up innovative startups. To date, this initiative has already enabled the creation of 14 European venture capital mega-funds and scaled up 43 companies, including 11 unicorns (with more than €1 billion in capital).

Photos of the EIB Group’s representatives and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.

Media Contact:

Thomas Eriksson
t.eriksson@ext.eib.org

Press Office

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank