Iberdrola and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a EUR100m (US$120m) financing agreement, which will contribute to the development of the company’s RDI strategy between 2021 and 2023.
The loan was signed in Madrid by Iberdrola CEO, Ignacio Galán and EIB vice-president, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, who is responsible for the Bank’s operations in Spain and Portugal.
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The funds will drive the development of innovative and sustainable technologies, in line with key areas of energy sector transformation, decarbonisation and electrification of the economy. Research activities will focus on renewable energy, green hydrogen production and the development of floating wind farms and solar plants, as well as the integration of clean energy into the energy network through pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations and batteries.
In addition to electric mobility, Iberdrola will develop new solutions for its customers, promoting more efficient energy use and more tailored services by enhancing digitalisation, automation and cybersecurity.”The EIB is firmly committed to supporting investments that will increase the European economy’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy by promoting RDI investment projects, especially those related to the energy sector, within the scope of the Bank’s climate action activities,” said Félix.
Iberdrola’s RDI strategy contributes to the development of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and meets the new EU clean energy targets.
According to the European Commission report, The 2020 Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, Iberdrola has become the European Union’s top private utility in terms of RDI investment, having earmarked EUR280m for it in 2019. The company aims to bring this figure to EUR400m by 2025. During the last decade, its RDI investments have increased to EUR2bn.
The financing is in line with the objectives of the EIB and the European Union, which focus on supporting sustainable energy and enhancing businesses’ technological capacity.
