AUSTRIA. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €50 million loan to AVL List GmbH (AVL). The Austrian company specialises in the development of innovative powertrain systems for global automotive and transport industries.
The EIB financing comes on top of a €70 million loan signed in December 2017 to support AVL’s electric drive-related activities, including selected R&D projects for hybrid and fully electric powertrains, as well as advanced driver assistance systems for connected and autonomous vehicles.
The original loan and the top-up were possible thanks to the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). EFSI is the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, under which the EIB Group and the European Commission are working together as strategic partners to boost the competitiveness of the European economy.
“Electric powertrains are one way to reach zero-emission mobility, and mobility is key when it comes to reaching the European climate targets,” said Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice-President responsible for activities in Austria. “As the EU bank, we support pioneering technological champions who help shape our future with high quality, cost-effective and sustainable technology. Our top-up loan to AVL will enable them to build this kind of cutting-edge technology. It will pave the way for more customer and environmentally friendly vehicles, which is all the more important given that many companies have put their R&D investments on hold due to the current economic uncertainty.”
Yorck Schmidt, Chief Financial Officer of AVL, explained: “The loan granted by the EIB is testimony to the very successful ongoing partnership between AVL and the EIB since 2007. AVL will use the funds provided to support its in-house research for the development of electric powertrains (hybrid and full hybrid), fuel cell systems and automated vehicles (ADAS/AD), as well as for the development of related measuring and testing systems and simulation technologies. This EIB financing represents a major contribution to AVL’s ongoing efforts to develop highly creative, advanced and customer-specific powertrain system solutions that, among other things, serve the goal of achieving significant reductions in CO2 emissions for cleaner vehicles.”
