EIB Advisory in 2023

The advisory arm of the European Investment Bank translates complex policy objectives into easy solutions for clients.

Annual Report 2023

Highlights

EIB Advisory is a core part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. We aim to simplify complex EU policy objectives for our clients, and offer clear solutions. Our work is crucial to the EIB’s role as a development institution. Our expertise serves public and private clients, providing financial and technical advice, as well as capacity building across all phases of a project.

By combining technical and financial know-how, we at EIB Advisory maximise the Bank’s impact. Every year, we help numerous projects get financing from the EIB Group and partner institutions. This report highlights the diverse benefits and success stories of EIB Advisory, from enhancing energy efficiency to advancing science and combating social problems.

I see the work of EIB Advisory as the essence of what it means to be a development bank. We translate complex policy objectives into a market reality that our clients can implement, often with the financial backing of the EIB. We are a key contributor to the success of some of the most important initiatives of the EIB Group, such as gender equality, the green transition, social housing, innovation, energy efficiency.

Hristo Stoykov

Head of EIB Advisory

In 2023, EIB Advisory supported not just EIB lending, but also key European Investment Fund initiatives, such as fostering gender equality in venture capital and private equity. We assisted clients in reaching objectives, ensuring sound investments with positive results.

Collaborating closely with the European Commission and other institutions, we are expanding our reach, entering new markets and delivering more advisory support through mandates that align with EU policy objectives.

EIB Advisory

The EIB offers a large range of advisory services that embrace all stages of the project cycle and beyond, to make investment projects happen inside the European Union and worldwide.

561

new advisory assignments

€33 billion

of financing supported

€118 billion

of investments mobilised through EIB-supported projects

In line with our goals to translate policy objectives into concrete projects, EIB Advisory focuses a great deal of resources on two of the main strategic objectives of the European Union: the digital and energy transitions. Over 70% of the 561 assignments in 2023 supported energy efficiency, renewable energy, decarbonisation of transport, digital technologies and climate adaptation. 

In 2023, the demand for EIB Advisory expertise continued to be higher in southern and eastern Europe. Around two-thirds of the EIB’s advisory assignments targeted cohesion regions, with an increased focus on climate changeenvironmental sustainabilityinnovation and digitalisation. Our support to corporate clients in these regions was crucial to advance climate innovations: For example, we supported early-stage companies developing new technologies for hydrogen and carbon capture in Spain, Italy and other countries in the Mediterranean.

Public authorities across cohesion regions have benefited from EIB Advisory support for investment projects and programmes in healthcare, education, social housing and transport. EIB Advisory helped authorities roll out clean technology faster, enhance knowledge of financial instruments to make more sustainable investments, and set up national decarbonisation funds for more energy efficiency in buildings.

We work with EIB Group financial intermediaries and microfinance providers to support the digital and green transitions of small and medium businesses (SMEs), which form the backbone of our economies.

PROJECT STORIES

Delve into the compelling narratives and insights unearthed through our EIB advisory project stories.

Ireland's bread and butter

Green fields as far as the eye can see, sheep peacefully roaming the pastures, and golden Irish butter spread on toast. Around 65% of all land in Ireland is used for agricultural purposes. The agri-food sector employs almost 170 000 people and accounts for around 5% of the country’s economy. However, despite farmers’ high productivity, their incomes are often lower than those in other economic sectors.

Out of this world

As hard to grasp as it may sound, space touches us all here on Earth. Space technologies aren’t just about travelling to Mars — these innovations also make our daily lives better. They make travel by train or plane safer, guide us to our destinations, and connect us worldwide in seconds. “Space is a key asset for Europe to face global challenges, boost our economic growth and build our future,” says Gianluigi Baldesi, head of the ventures and financing office at the European Space Agency (ESA). “The global space economy, valued at €460 billion in 2022, will continue to grow, ultimately benefiting society.”

Europe has been at the forefront of recent space projects, investing in big space satellite programmes like Copernicus (Earth observation) and Galileo (positioning, navigation and timing). Now, there is a third flagship space project backed by the European Union: IRIS², a satellite constellation project to offer secure modes of communication to governments and the private sector. And yet, without more substantial and targeted investments in the space sector, Europe still risks falling behind in the next wave of space innovation despite its high standard of academic and scientific research.

While European companies remain competitive in space innovations such as micro- and nanoelectronics, digital technology, and optical and ubiquitous communications, they struggle to find loans and other financing to expand their businesses. This is due to various factors, including a lack of growth capital, the long development timelines for these technologies, and the large investments demanded by their products.

Space companies in the European Union often lack knowledge about financing opportunities. According to European space executives, it is difficult to find private funding for projects in Europe, and to navigate the complex system of public funding available at the national and European levels. To solve these problems, EIB Advisory joined forces with the ESA and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS) to give extra attention to the financing needs of space companies.

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Children come first

Nestled along the scenic Black Sea coast, Burgas is known for its vibrant cultural scene and rich history. It is also one of the fastest-growing cities in Bulgaria. And when it comes to the health of the next generation, the people of Burgas are ready to invest.

For the last 30 years, not a single hospital has been built with public resources in Bulgaria, not even in our capital,” says Dimitar Nikolov, the mayor of Burgas. “We had to do something to change this. Our citizens spoke and we listened.

For people living in Burgas and the many tourists visiting each year, the lack of good children’s healthcare is a major problem. A paediatric hospital became a priority for the city.

Positive energy

Reducing emissions requires a multi-pronged approach. We need to power our homes and businesses with green energy, move away from fossil fuels on the roads and be more innovative in how we produce and store energy. Nestled in the former Lufthansa cargo hall at Tegel Airport in Berlin, STOFF2 has a plan to generate green hydrogen, and a new storage technology that makes it possible.

This German company has developed an electrolyser that stores energy and generates hydrogen, combining battery and electrolysis functions in a single device. The company created its first electrolysis prototype several years ago, performing what it calls “zinc intermediate step electrolysis”. Electrolysis is the process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. “We knew this technology would have a crucial unique selling point: making it possible to supply a constant flow of green hydrogen, on demand,” Sebastian Sipp says.

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Green is the new black

The tourism sector in South Tyrol attracts over 50 million visitors each year. Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano wants to support more businesses operating in this important sector. To help costumers remain competitive and comply with national and international sustainability standards, Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano offers a wide range of financial services in northeast Italy.

Our goal is to help clients become sustainable, modernise their facilities and improve mobility in a sustainable way,” says Roberto Negri, the financial services director for SMEs at Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano, one of the largest independent savings banks in Italy and the first bank in South Tyrol. An EIB loan for €80 million is enabling the Italian bank to open up finance to more SMEs by making it easier to get loans, adds Negri.

820 days to success

With good project preparation, even first-of-a-kind projects can be completed on time and meet their budgets. This was the case for the Kekava road bypass project. After working on the project for more than two years, Mārtiņš Lazdovskis found himself at the inauguration ceremony, smiling proudly for the camera and holding a piece of freshly cut ribbon.

13 October 2023 is a memorable day in the life of many Latvians living in Riga and its surroundings, as a new stretch of motorway improves the region’s connectivity,” says Lazdovskis, chairman of Latvian State Roads, the government body that manages the country’s road network. The new 17-kilometre bypass, which took 820 days to complete, solves a major bottleneck in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) that would occur when cars and other vehicles passed through Kekava. The new bypass around Kekava saves drivers 30 minutes each way. It also improves road safety and reduces noise and pollution.

The EIB lent €61.1 million to support a public-private partnership (PPP) created to build and operate the bypass. A PPP is a deal made between a government authority and a private company, usually to build, run and maintain public infrastructure. The bypass project benefited from private sector innovation and efficiency that reduced the construction and design costs. Under a PPP contract, the private partner takes on the risk of running and managing the project. The public authority makes payments to the private company based on the project’s performance.

The EIB also provided Latvian State Roads with advisory support from the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC). Run by EIB Advisory, EPEC helps the public sector prepare and complete bankable infrastructure projects using PPP arrangements.

The Kekava bypass PPP project is the first large-scale road infrastructure project in the Baltics, so our experience was quite limited at the outset,” explains Lazdovskis. “The advisory support of the EIB was a significant factor in our success. We had a very fruitful collaboration with EIB Advisory and learned a lot about their experiences implementing PPP projects in Europe.

EIB Advisory experts helped to prepare the project, including with procurement and financing. “This allowed us to choose the most suitable model for Latvia. The EIB’s advice was invaluable,” Lazdovskis says.

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Switching tracks on harassment

When Barcelona’s public transport company was talking to the EIB about loans to renew its rolling stock and buy electric buses and charging infrastructure, another problem emerged that demanded a solution. In developing its social responsibility and equal opportunity policies, the company wanted to address incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination occurring on its networks.

Our original plan only involved measures to prevent harassment directed specifically at women,” says Raquel Diaz, head of social responsibility, women and diversity at Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB). “That plan evolved, incorporating specific measures to combat LGBTIQ+-phobia on public transport networks.”

EIB Advisory experts and a team of mobility and gender experts from Spain, Portugal and Germany, with funding from the InvestEU Advisory Hub, stepped in to help TMB implement the plan and measure its impact.

Cyprus's time capsule

When you take a stroll through a museum, the best parts of its collection are not always on display.

The methods for how a museum stores, handles, studies and manages its works underpin the preservation of the whole collection. Collection management is a complex job, but it is the unsung hero behind any exhibition. It involves the registration, study, preservation, display and storage of all artefacts. Making artefacts accessible and easy to retrieve is as important as any other work in a museum.

The Cyprus Museum in Nicosia is home to hundreds of thousands of artefacts found on the island, from the Palaeolithic period to the 19th century. The main exhibition displays over 000 antiquities, including pottery, jewellery, sculptures, coins and copper objects. Thousands more antiquities are kept in the storerooms. The museum building dates to the early 20th century, when Cyprus was still a British colony. The current museum is not equipped to hold its growing collection.

Small loans make a big difference

Inpulse is an impact investment manager that helps banks and other financial institutions offer small loans to vulnerable populations and low-income people. Inpulse focuses on social projects and microfinance while supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Inpulse was founded in the ‘80s to help close the gap between the financial sector and cooperatives and social economy operators,” says Nicolas Blondeau, manager at Inpulse, based in Brussels, Belgium.

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A quantum leap in finance

Quantum technologies have the potential to solve the major challenges of our time — from tracking future pandemics or designing new materials and new drugs, modelling extreme weather patterns and contributing to disaster relief, enhancing the ability to detect movement below ground and under water, to other benefits not imagined yet. This might seem like a theme for the next sci-fi movie, but the reality is that futuristic quantum technologies are fast becoming a reality.

A quarter of all companies working on quantum technologies are located in the European Union. But many of these companies face difficulties getting loans to expand and flourish.

Boosting learning, saving energy

Rome is a city filled with history. Its heritage buildings are treasures for art lovers and tourists alike — but less so for students. Many schools in Rome date to the 19th century, and some of them are run down, badly insulated and poorly equipped to face a changing climate.

That is why Rome is now making its biggest investment in education renovation in decades, with the goal of making over 200 schools more energy efficient and sustainable.

Complex upgrades are particularly difficult,” says Linda D’Amico, an architect in Rome’s Public Works and Infrastructure Office. Because antique buildings need to be protected and preserved, the rules for doing this work are stricter.

Rome has 1 144 nurseries, kindergartens, and primary and lower secondary schools. These schools account for as much as 95% of total municipal energy use, so a good energy efficiency programme will save money and cut emissions. “School buildings are voracious energy consumers,” says D’Amico. “Energy-saving measures can reduce pollution and have a major impact on the public budget, thanks to reduced costs for heating and lighting.”

The renovation was funded by grants from the Italian government, EU funds under an Italian national plan for cities called PON Metro, and a €150 million line of credit from the EIB in February 2023.

The city requested advisory support from the EIB to devise a plan and make the most of these resources. “Our comprehensive set of technical, financial and methodological advisory services will help the City of Rome implement and monitor this project in a timely manner,” says Alexander Linke, a senior EIB finance advisor who worked on the project.

That advisory support helped city officials overcome key challenges.

The cooperation with EIB Advisory colleagues has helped the City of Rome face its challenges,” D’Amico says. “The technical assistance has been crucial in translating even smaller building upgrades into lasting improvements to energy consumption, to the environment, and to the welfare of children,” she adds. “It is a true win-win collaboration.”

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Examples of JASPERS advisory services

JASPERS, the Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions, is a technical advisory programme funded by the European Union and the European Investment Bank. Here are two examples of JASPERS’s supported projects.

Faster and safer rail networks in Czech Republic

Railways are one of the most sustainable and safest fortms of transport for people and freig... 

Cleaner water for Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a land of water. It has an abundance of rain falling on open plains, nex...

Examples of ELENA advisory services

ELENA provides technical assistance for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments targeting buildings and innovative urban transport. Here are two examples of ELENA supported projects.

Green revolution of wealth in Salento

In 2023, a project was completed under the ELENA facility that used a €1.5 million grant to fund energy efficiency renovations in public buildings...

Green reconstruction and energy efficiency
European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA) facility is providing a €2.4 million technical assistance grant to help Zagreb... 

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The European Local Energy Assistance (ELENA) facility is providing a €2.4 million technical assistance grant to help Zagreb...