European Investment Bank and Societe Generale to collaborate on financing for fast-growing innovative cleantech companies
Memorandum of Cooperation aims at jointly supporting fast-growing, early stage small and mid-cap energy transition companies in Europe. The EIB will provide guarantees via a EUR 250 million envelope backed by the European programme InvestEU. As part of this guarantee programme, Societe Generale will provide working capital facilities to support the emerging leaders of the energy transition.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Societe Generale signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to develop joint collaborations and strengthen their support of innovative, fast-growing small and mid-cap companies active in the cleantech sector.
The combination of the EIB guarantees with Societe Generale working capital facilities will address the financing gap for emerging cleantech manufacturers, that often face long production and sales cycles and struggle to access sufficient working capital financing at competitive conditions, limiting their growth potential.
Using an envelope of up to EUR 250 million backed by InvestEU, the European Commission’s programme for innovation and sustainability, the EIB will provide guarantees as collateral to cleantech start-ups and scale-ups to unlock working capital facilities, including advance payment and performance bonds, provided by Societe Generale. With this EIB guarantee programme, Societe Generale will accelerate its support of Emerging Leaders, as part of the bank’s dedicated envelope for the environmental transition launched in 2023.
The EIB and Societe Generale will target companies that promote, among others: the decarbonisation of the economy, the sustainable use and protection of natural resources, the transition to a circular economy, the development of a sustainable bioeconomy, and the prevention and control of pollution of the natural environment. Clean technologies span across different industries and areas (Energy, Mobility, Bioeconomy, Circular Economy and Decarbonisation of Industry).
The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed in Paris by Jean-Christophe Laloux, Director General for EU Operations, for the EIB, and by Lénaïg Trenaux, Global Co-Head of Energy, Battery, Mining & Industries - Sustainable and Impact Advisory, for Societe Generale. The EIB financing is part of TechEU, the European Investment Bank Group’s programme dedicated to accelerating innovation across Europe, and it contributes to the EU Clean Industrial Act.
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We are very happy to sign our first Memorandum of Cooperation on clean technologies with Societe Generale, and we look forward to jointly supporting the scale-up of European companies. As Europe’s climate bank, the EIB considers the development of the cleantech sector as an essential tool to make the green transition a success.
This partnership reflects Societe Generale’s contribution to advancing the environmental transition. By joining forces with the EIB, we are reinforcing our action and helping emerging energy transition leaders to get the financing they need to grow and deliver impactful low-carbon solutions in Europe.
Press contacts
EIB Group
Andrea Morawski, a.morawski@eib.org, tel.: +352 43 79 83427 / mobile: +352 691 284 349
Website: www.eif.org – www.eib.org/press – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org
Societe Generale
Lucie Le Bouffo _+33 1 57 29 64 90_ lucie.le-bouffo@socgen.com