InvestEU

Europe’s leading battery maker, Northvolt, has signed a $5 billion non-recourse project financing arrangement to enable the expansion of Northvolt Ett in northern Sweden. The deal represents the largest green loan raised in Europe to date.

The European Union agency responsible for providing finance to small and medium-sized businesses will have 64% more funds to disperse after the EIB, European Commission and its other shareholders voted to raise its share capitalization.

A clean energy plan drawn up by the European Commission includes details of the various funding pots available to help ocean-based renewables hit 340 GW of generation capacity by mid century.

The EU Council has rejected a Covid-inspired European Commission proposal for a €40 billion warchest to help coal-dependent regions shift to renewables, with the heads of member states instead allocating €17.5 billion. Despite the final figure being €10 billion higher than that suggested by the commission before coronavirus battered Europe, questions have been asked about how useful the program will be.

The European Commission has outlined a long-anticipated plan it says could unlock up to €340 billion for new solar and wind projects over the next decade. The 30-year strategy envisages up to €470 billion being spent on electrolyzer capacity.

The European Commission has sent the European Green Deal on its way and a preliminary version of its anticipated hydrogen strategy has been leaked. The plan does not lack ambition, as the EU seeks to assert tech leadership in green hydrogen through coordinated efforts across the value chain.

Although decried for lacking ambition and as an abdication of responsibility in some quarters, the climate law proposed by the European Commission may be more ambitious than it first appears, as Felicia Jackson, from the center for sustainable finance of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London – considers here.

President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined plans to fund her Green Deal with a mix of EU, member state and private sector contributions. Now it is over to individual nations and the European Parliament.

More than a dozen European ministers of economic affairs have released a statement setting out the next steps to turn Europe into an industrial hub for large-scale cell production. The role of SMEs and competition was highlighted as ministers said European cells should provide innovation in terms of raw material use and sustainability, hinting at a pivot away from lithium-ion.