>@2014 Manz AG
© 2014 Manz AG

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 20 million loan to high-tech engineering company Manz AG. The funds are being made available for the company’s research and development (R&D) in the area of sustainable and cost-efficient power generation. The financial support is being made accessible through a new financial instrument that takes into account the specific requirements of midcap companies in the field of R&D financing. This is a joint initiative by the EIB and the European Commission.

The funds will support the company’s R&D activities in Germany. Manz specialises in the development and production of automation machinery and equipment. The company develops integrated production lines that are deployed in the flat screen and sensor display, thin-film solar and lithium-ion batteries segments.

The EIB financing will primarily benefit the company’s R&D in the sector of solar Photovoltaic (PV). Manz’s CIGS technology is among the world leaders, with currently the highest sunlight-to-energy efficiency for CIGS and other thin-film PV modules, and competitive costs compared to cSi PV technology. The CIGS technology is based on copper, indium, gallium and selenium and produced in thin-film technology. CIGS modules are currently considered to be the most efficient on the market. The company’s research programme is scheduled for completion by 2016.

EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer called the Bank’s financial support crucial: “To be able to deliver strong research achievements – as here in the field of sustainable and renewable energies – reliable financial support is vital. This is particularly the case when it comes to small and medium-sized companies. The example of Manz demonstrates that a medium-sized company can be well on a par with its international competitors and be a technology leader. Yet, this requires stable financing conditions in the long run.” It would be a central task for both the EIB and the EU Commission to ensure these conditions, added VP Molterer, whose responsibilities include the Bank’s financing activities in Germany. 

Manz’s R&D project is supported by ‘InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators’ MidCap Growth Finance, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments. InnovFin is a new range of EIB Group products designed to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses.

InnovFin MidCap Growth Finance is part of ‘InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators’ and enables the EIB to provide between EUR 7.5 million and EUR 25 million in long-term senior, subordinated or mezzanine loans to innovative businesses in order to support their growth and investments in research and innovation. InnovFin is a joint initiative by the EIB Group and the European Commission under Horizon 2020, the EU framework for research and innovation (“R&I”) 2014-2020. InnovFin builds on the success of the Risk-Sharing Finance Facility developed under the seventh EU framework for research and technological development (FP7), which for the period 2007-2013 financed 114 R&I projects worth EUR 11.3 billion and provided loan guarantees for another EUR 1.4 billion.