EIT InnoEnergy strikes agreement with bank to support green transition
The sustainable energy innovation engine will work with Banco Santander to support innovation in green energy across Europe and accelerate the development of its portfolio of start-ups.
The European sustainable energy innovation engine EIT InnoEnergy has signed an agreement with the financial institution Banco Santander to support innovation in green energy across the continent.
The aim of the strategic partnership is to help accelerate the development of the EIT InnoEnergy portfolio of start-ups by encouraging investment, reducing the industry skills gap, and driving the development of creative solutions to support sustainable innovations.
Energy transition
The bank has identified six technologies in which it aims to become a world-class advisor and financier to drive the energy transition, including green hydrogen, energy storage, clean fuels and renewable energy. It also has corporate and retail banking expertise in the industrial and energy sectors, having mobilised €69bn in green assets between 2019 and the first quarter of 2022.
The EIT InnoEnergy portfolio companies, which includes three industrial unicorns, has an aggregated need for €160bn in extra financing over the next five years. Four of the 300 companies have already worked successfully with Santander to accelerate their business cases by attracting strategic investors, and obtaining financial resources for accelerated growth.
“Supporting innovation is critical if we are to meet our collective net zero targets, and Santander CIB is committed to playing our part”
“In just a few months of working together, the companies in our portfolio have been impressed by the simplicity and speed of execution by Santander, the resources mobilised, their understanding of the energy challenges, and the added value the bank brings beyond financial support,” said Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy. “We anticipate this will continue as more of our portfolio experiences working with Santander.”
EIT InnoEnergy claims its portfolio companies are on track to generate €72.8bn billion in revenue and save 1.1G tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually by 2030.
“We’ve equipped ourselves to understand the technologies that will help us transition to net zero in order to deliver the advisory and capital markets solutions that energy transition companies need to grow and become industry leaders. In addition we’ve committed to mobilising €220bn in green finance by 2030 and this agreement is another step toward achieving that objective.”
EIT InnoEnergy’s mission is to ensure Europe has the technology and skills required to accelerate the green deal and Europe’s decarbonisation goals. It is supported by the EU body, European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), and backs innovations across a range of areas, including sustainable buildings and cities, energy storage, transport and mobility and renewables.
It is also the driver behind several strategic European initiatives, including the European Battery Alliance (EBA), the European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Centre (EGHAC) and the European Solar Initiative (ESI).
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