EIB and Iberdrola sign €120 million loan to develop energy innovation projects in Spain

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• The financing will go towards research, development and innovation projects for energy sector technologies, backing the electrification and decarbonisation of the economy.
• The innovation projects will cover the generation and integration of renewable energies, digitalisation of power grids and development of self-supply and electric mobility solutions for customers.
• The loan will also contribute to energy security via investment in cybersecurity and resilience initiatives applied to power grid management.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €120 million loan with Iberdrola to finance the development of research and innovation projects involving energy technologies, with the goal of backing and accelerating the electrification and decarbonisation of the economy. Total investment for the project will be €250 million.

The EIB financing will boost innovation in renewable energy projects in solar photovoltaics, hydropower and wind, together with other areas like combined power and agrivoltaics. Funds will also go towards research and development on decarbonising demand via, for example, green hydrogen and heat pumps, and to new solutions making it easier to integrate and manage renewables, facilitating storage and optimising energy efficiency throughout the value chain.

Power grid investment will go to projects covering digitalisation, advanced data management and power electronics to create smart grids. Initiatives aiming to improve cybersecurity and resilience on these grids will also be included. In the retail domain, the projects will contribute to the development of smart, tailored solutions to promote self-supply and electric mobility.

These initiatives are part of the company’s 2024-2026 strategic plan to speed up the decarbonisation of its activities and contribute to the electrification and digitalisation of the global economy.

The finance contract will support economic, social and territorial cohesion, as an estimated 27% of the total investment is set to go to regions where the income per capita is below the EU average.

The EIB’s commitment to energy security and innovation

In 2023, the EIB Group provided more than €21 billion in financing for energy security in Europe. In the same year, it allocated more than €4.5 billion to this goal in Spain, financing projects in areas including renewable energy, energy efficiency, power grids and storage systems. These investments are helping Europe speed up its transition to sustainable energy and reduce its reliance on fossil fuel imports.

Find out more about the EIB’s support for the energy sector here.

Iberdrola’s commitment to energy innovation

Iberdrola promotes an energy model based on electrification using new clean and efficient technological solutions. It aims to double its investment in this area, putting more than €4 billion into research, development and innovation activities by 2030.

These funds will mainly go to projects related to renewable energy, smart grids, digital transformation, green hydrogen and the development of end-client solutions. The goal is to speed up decarbonisation to address the climate crisis, and to improve energy security, competitiveness and long-term job creation throughout the value chain.

The company has been recognised by the European Commission as the world’s leading private electric company in terms of R&D investment in its latest report ‘The 2023 Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard’.

Background information

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances sound investments that further EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality.

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), reported total financing signatures in Spain of €11.4 billion in 2023, approximately €6.8 billion of which went to climate action and environmental sustainability projects. The EIB Group signed a total of €88 billion in new financing in 2023.

About Iberdrola and its commitment to sustainable financing and a carbon-free nation

Iberdrola is continuing to move forward with its sustainability strategy, which is based on electrifying the economy through clean energy, and which focuses on combating climate change and creating wealth and jobs in the regions where it operates.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the company had green or sustainability-linked financing of more than €56 billion, including over €21.3 billion of green bonds.