EIB, Prysmian Group to Finance €135 Mn R&D Projects Including Sustainable Power Grids

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Prysmian Group announce that they have finalised financing of €135 million intended to support the Group’s 2021-2024 R&D plans in Europe.

Specifically, the areas that will benefit from EIB financing are:

The new projects fulfil the goals set within Prysmian Group’s innovation roadmap and strategy, strongly oriented towards the support and promotion of digitalization and the energy transition.

The financing represents approximately 50% of the investments planned in Europe during the period concerned. Worldwide, Prysmian Group allocates approximately €100 million per year to Research & Development. This financing follows those already granted by the EIB to the Group in 2013 and in 2017, also in support of R&D in Europe, a sign of the trust that the company enjoys with the Bank.

The Vice President of the EIB, Gelsomina Vigliotti, comments: "The agreement signed with Prysmian aims at developing technological innovations via cable based on sustainability criteria in order to reduce the consumption of raw materials, the generation of waste and CO2 emissions. Supporting the cabling sector helps to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion and to promote the energy and digital transition in Europe".

“This loan strengthens our financial structure with a long-term duration, we are very satisfied with EIB’s continued support and renewed confidence”, commented Giovanni Zancan Prysmian Group Finance SVP.

The EIB financing is specifically intended to support projects to be developed at R&D centres in five European countries: France, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Italy. A significant share of the resources is intended for Italy, which is home to Prysmian Group’s headquarters, R&D offices and several plants that are centres of excellence in manufacturing optical fibres and submarine power transmission cable systems. Globally, Prysmian Group has 26 R&D centres located in Europe, North and South America and Asia, with a team of over 900 professional researchers, technicians and operators, and an extensive portfolio of more than 5,500 patents.

“Our Group’s growth strategy revolves around our commitment to R&D, an area where we intend to increase our investments further, also thanks to the funding from the EIB,” explains Srini Siripurapu, Chief R&D Officer and Chief Innovation Officer Prysmian Group. “In particular, cable technology is proving that it can contribute decisively to the challenge of digitalisation and the development of more efficient and environmentally sustainable power grids. Innovative optical fibres, cables with a reduced environmental impact and higher capacity and voltage rating, and technologies for monitoring network conditions are just a few of the areas on which we are focusing.