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Investing.com -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has committed €17.5 billion to support energy efficiency improvements for small and medium-sized businesses across Europe over the next three years.
The initiative, announced at a Brussels conference on Thursday, aims to help more than 350,000 European companies implement energy-saving technologies to reduce their energy bills and enhance their competitiveness. This financing commitment nearly doubles the EIB Group’s current level of support in this area for the 2025-2027 period.
Working with the European Commission, the EIB Group will deploy a mix of existing and new financial products, including debt and equity instruments, targeting energy efficiency and decarbonization efforts by SMEs.
The program is expected to mobilize total investments exceeding €65 billion by 2027, addressing a market gap in Europe for SME energy efficiency financing.
"This is a significant step up in support to help companies cut energy costs," said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. "And because SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy, this is also an important step in enhancing Europe’s competitiveness."
As part of the initiative, the EIB Group has also partnered with the nonprofit Solar Impulse Foundation to promote energy efficiency as a service. A new report released alongside the announcement examines the drivers and barriers affecting energy efficiency investments across Europe.
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