EIB Lends €500 Million to AB Volvo for Electric Vehicle Research
The EIB loan will support R&D and innovation in electric vehicle technologies, active and passive safety, and autonomous driving technologies, as well as non-powertrain-related energy efficiency improvements.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), which is also called the EU climate bank, is a major funder and driver of technological progress, competitiveness, and research, development, and innovation (RDI) in Sweden and the rest of the European Union.
The EIB is helping Volvo with this RDI project because it will help cut down on carbon emissions and turn heavy-duty commercial vehicles into electric vehicles. It will do this by electrifying fleets, rolling out high-performance charging networks, and developing hydrogen fuel cell technology and infrastructure.
It will focus on the electrification of commercial vehicles, which is still at a very early stage with much lower penetration levels than passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
The project will not only help lower carbon emissions from transportation and car emissions but also make cars safer and Europe's transportation system more efficient and better for the environment.
EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros, responsible for Sweden, said:
“We are pleased to support AB Volvo—a Swedish and global market leader in heavy-duty vehicle manufacturing—to promote a paradigm shift in innovative and clean technologies within the transport sector. Volvo’s RDI projects will bring us one step closer to a low-carbon economy. Therefore, pushing the boundaries for the automotive industry in Europe to identify a cleaner, safer and smarter solutions that will benefit us all.”
Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of Volvo Group, said:
“The necessary transformation of the transport and infrastructure industry into sustainable solutions is urgent. We are leading the transformation today, but want to further accelerate our research and development in the areas of electromobility, safety solutions, and autonomous transport solutions. With the EIB’s collaboration, this acceleration can continue.”
The project's scope aligns with the Bank's Climate Bank Roadmap objectives as well as the EIB's Public Policy Goal "Innovation; Digital and Human Capital." Furthermore, the initiative contributes to the EU's policy aims under Horizon Europe Pillar 2 (Climate, Energy, and Mobility-Smart Mobility). Finally, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has validated Volvo Group's path to the Paris Climate Agreement goals, showing that the Group's climate targets are in line with what current climate science thinks is necessary to keep global warming at bay.
Source: EIB
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