European Investment Bank (EIB) authorities will loan EUR25m (US$29m) to finance the research, development and innovation (RDI) investments of Spanish group Zanini, which specialises in the development of components for the automotive sector.
The EU bank is providing the funds through the Investment Plan for Europe, with a view to supporting innovation within the European automotive industry and drive the economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis.
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The investment will be implemented across four years – by 2023 – at the multi-national facilities in Barcelona. The project will make it possible to improve production plants and expand capacity by building a new plant in Parets del Vallès.
The aim of the innovation strategy is to strengthen its new business line focusing on new technologies for radar integration – key to self-driving vehicle development – which is Zanini’s specialist area. Environmental and safety improvements will also be made in the facilities and the company’s ICT technologies will be modernised.
Zanini’s EIB-financed RDI strategy will also enable the company to develop new Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems technologies. These will improve vehicle safety by providing new automatic emergency braking and speed control systems.
The loan is backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, which enables the EIB to finance projects that present particular value added owing to their structure or nature. The project will help to safeguard and create jobs.
Zanini has production centres in ten countries and currently has almost 1,400 employees. The implementation of the innovation project will enable it to expand headcount, including in the RDI division.
“We are delighted to sign an agreement that will help drive innovation in the European automotive industry, a sector employing 14m people and that, like many others, is having a particularly difficult time due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic,” said EIB VP Emma Navarro, responsible for the Bank’s activities in Spain.
“This financing will enable Zanini to implement cutting-edge technologies in Spain to drive the development of self-driving vehicles and improve car safety and energy efficiency. Supporting innovation and the development of clean technologies is a key priority for the EIB to foster a sustainable economic recovery.”
For his part, Zanini chairman, Joan Miquel Torras added: “With this long-term loan from the EIB, Zanini is safeguarding innovation financing for the coming years and will be able to develop its Expansion Plan linked to the new line of electromagnetic transparency and backlighting (ETB) products for electric and self-driving cars.”
In 2019, the EU bank provided EUR14.44bn to finance different RDI projects. In Spain last year, the EIB made available more than EUR1.32bn in support of Spanish companies’ innovation projects.
