EIB Group made record investments in Spain in 2025 to support innovation, grid infrastructure, security and defence, and housing

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

EIB

The Group invested €11 billion, alongside an additional €2.9 billion in NextGenerationEU loans.

“The EIB Group activity in 2025 shows that it was a record-breaking year for Spain. The EIB Group is a driving force for building Europe’s position in a more secure and prosperous world. Wherever you see flagship projects with a positive impact on the lives of Spanish people, you’ll find the EU flag and the support of the European Investment Bank.”
Nadia Calviño, President of the EIB Group

• Investment in innovation reached a record figure of €2.8 billion. EIB Group pledges investment in a second Spanish megafund supporting technology companies, Seaya Growth Tech Fund I.
• A record €1.9 billion was invested to strengthen electricity grids, including the Bay of Biscay interconnection project. In 2025, one out of every two euros invested in these grids in Spain came from European Investment Bank (EIB) financing.
• Scope of security and defence investments expanded with major projects in Spain,  one of the EU countries receiving the most EIB Group financing in this area.
• In the last two years, support for housing has doubled compared to the previous period, with nearly €2 billion to build 11 000 new homes.
• Strong boost to support SMEs and mid-caps with €4.2 billion financing. The European Investment Fund (EIF) has doubled its support for Spanish SMEs thanks to NextGenerationEU funds.
• Efficient water management remains a priority, with a record investment of €570 million.
• Spain is the country that receives the most EIB Group financing for women entrepreneurs: €620 million.
• The EIB Group is deploying its full firepower in Spain to support innovation, the green and digital transitions, security and defence, SME competitiveness and services for people. 40 years after Spain joined the European Union, the Group continues to drive progress in the country.

In 2025, the EIB Group completed financing and investment operations in Spain totalling around €11 billion, which came alongside an additional €2.9 billion under the Regional Resilience Fund (NextGenerationEU loans) – accounting for some 14% of total Group investment worldwide.

“The EIB Group activity in 2025 shows that it was a record-breaking year for Spain,” EIB Group President Nadia Calviño said. “The EIB Group is a driving force for building Europe’s position in a more secure and prosperous world. Wherever you see flagship projects with a positive impact on the lives of Spanish people, you’ll find the EU flag and the support of the European Investment Bank.”

Commitment to the green transition: Record investments in power grids and water

The EIB Group is consolidating its position as the climate bank, devoting nearly 50% of total investment in Spain to the green transition: In 2025, standout projects included those for power grid upgrades and interconnections, efficient water management, renewable energy, decarbonisation of industry, wind technologies, sustainable transport, and energy efficiency in SMEs.

A record €1.9 billion went to electricity grids and storage systems. In 2025, one out of every two euros invested in these networks in Spain came from EIB financing.The funds supported projects to digitalise grids, install smart meters, repair flood damage from 2024 and strengthen grid connections with the rest of Europe. EIB investments will help double the electricity exchange capacity between France and Spain via the Bay of Biscay interconnection, and install nearly 2.5 million smart meters.

Investment to promote the transition to more sustainable means of transport rose 50% from 2024, reaching €1.5 billion, financing such projects as the Málaga metro extension, the upgrade of the Barcelona Sants railway station and the Burgos-Vitoria high-speed rail line.

Financing for projects for efficient water management reached a record €570 million.In 2025, the Group maintained the strong momentum in this line of activity from the previous year, taking part in the first green bond issue by a water company.

Record financing for innovation, and second investment in venture capital megafund

Financing for innovation projects in Spain has reached an unprecedented €2.8 billion, thanks in part to the launch of TechEU, the EIB Group’s largest programme to fund technological innovation in the European Union.

The Group is Spain’s largest financier of innovation. It supports innovation projects of firms ranging from large companies to the most disruptive startups, including financing major cleantech manufacturers, and investing in venture capital funds specialising in deeptech, science or space. At the sector level, the focus has been on wind technology, advanced automotive production technologies, biotechnology, medtech, security and defence, and space.

The EIF has played a very important role by supporting the investment fund ecosystem, and through agreements with institutions – like that with the CDTI (centre for technological development and innovation) to create a fund-of-funds that facilitates the transfer of technologies, enabling scientific research and deeptech developed at universities and research centres to be made into solutions with a real impact on people’s lives.

Today the EIF announced an investment through the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) in a second Spanish megafund focused on technological innovation, Seaya Growth Tech Fund I. Through megafunds funded by the ETCI, investments have already been made in four Spanish scaleups – three of them unicorns. This is a milestone for Spain, now home to two of the 13 megafunds in which the EIF has invested at the EU level to help technology champions access the capital they need to grow and expand globally from within the European Union.

Scope of security and defence investments expanded

In a context marked by growing threats to the European Union’s security and technological leadership, and the European way of life, the EIB Group provided €500 million for Spain’s security and defence industry. This record figure places Spain among the EU countries receiving the most EIB Group financing in this area. Security and defence is a cross-cutting financing objective for all Group activities, with expanded eligibility ranges and new intermediated funding instruments. 2025 saw financing for growth and innovation by Spanish companies in the defence sector, supply chain support for European defence contractors, and the development of a venture capital ecosystem adapted to the needs of the industry through investments in a specialised fund.

Support for cohesion, housing, health and agriculture

In 2025, cohesion investment in Spain rose to €6.3 billion. Territorial, social and economic cohesion is a strategic priority and cross‑cutting objective of the EIB Group, helping to strengthen the EU economic model and protect European values.

Support for affordable and sustainable housing remains a priority: In the last two years, this financing has doubled compared to the previous period, with nearly €2 billion in the period 2024-2025 to build 11 000 new homes. During the year, financing arrangements with banking institutions were also built up, to increase the supply of loans for household energy efficiency investments, and to support real estate SMEs promoting sustainable housing. Finally, Group financing allocations have also been made for housing to foster innovation in the sector, for faster and more sustainable construction.

Projects financed by the EIB Group in 2025 also included investment in healthcare infrastructure, like the new university hospital in A Coruña, or the construction of homes, day centres and assisted living facilities for the elderly and people with disabilities. Thanks to its venture debt instruments and investments in venture capital funds, the Group has also invested in R&D‑intensive companies at the forefront of areas like children’s healthcare and assisted reproductive technology.

In 2025, €1.5 billion went to agriculture and the bioeconomy. These funds support food security, help rural communities, and provide opportunities for young farmers facing financing barriers. This line of activity also included investments in bioeconomy and projects for healthy food.

€4.2 billion to support SMEs and mid-caps

Support for SMEs and mid‑cap companies rose by 55% from the previous year, reaching €4.2 billion – due in large part to the EIF’s rapid roll-out of NextGenerationEU loans under the Regional Resilience Fund. The increase was also driven by agreements with Spanish financial institutions, which mobilise additional financing for this strategic sector of the economy. Resources were allocated for investment in competitiveness, innovation, the green and digital transitions, and meeting companies’ liquidity needs.

In 2025, support for women was an important part of EIB Group activity in Spain, which became the country receiving the most funding for women entrepreneurs (€620 million). Notable projects include the EIB’s first intermediated financing programme in the European Union devoted entirely to women entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical sector, and progress made by the Gender Finance Lab, the first EU-level advisory programme helping banks improve access to finance for women (in which six Spanish banks are participating).

Successful roll-out of NextGenerationEU loans under the Regional Resilience Fund

Working with the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise; the Autonomous Communities; financial intermediaries; and the venture capital ecosystem, the EIB Group channelled €2.9 billion of NextGenerationEU loans to the Spanish economy in 2025. To achieve this, it accelerated implementation of the Regional Resilience Fund (Recovery and Resilience Facility), through direct lending as well as intermediated financial instruments managed by the EIB and EIF.

Click here for a for the presentation (in Spanish) from the press conference.

Link to video of EIB Group activity in Spain for television use