New Funds to Speed Up Capital for EU Renewable Projects

Bracewell’s Ro Lazarovitch spoke with ICIS about how the launch of two new funds backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) will accelerate the access to capital for European developers, allowing them to raise capital for renewable projects faster than other funding routes.

“That will mean that especially small and medium-sized developers can access this cash and deploy more capital for several projects rather than just one or two,” said Lazarovitch.

One of the funds, the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure, is an innovative fund designed to provide equity bridge financing for renewable energy infrastructure assets in Europe.

“This type of equity bridge finance does not displace project financing. It is complimentary and can be deployed before a project is ready for project finance, allowing the developer to spread its equity across more projects and accelerate their development,” said Lazarovitch.

Lazarovitch also pointed out how EU capital should be deployed in battery storage or hydrogen projects to support the energy transition.

“This innovative financial tool is welcome as Europe lags behind the UK in certain key renewable infrastructure markets, such as utility scale battery storage. Battery storage projects could be benefactors of the new EIB funding too,” explained Lazarovitch.