France: The EIB lends EUR 65m for the European synchrotron in Grenoble

With fostering innovation to support basic and applied research of scientific excellence as one of its top priorities, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has decided to provide EUR 65m for the ESRF-Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF-EBS) project promoted by ESRF, the European synchrotron in Grenoble. This financing operation is guaranteed by InnovFin Large Projects, a financial product developed under Horizon 2020, the European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The finance contract was signed on Friday 11 December 2015 by Francesco Sette, ESRF Director General, Bertrand Girard, Chairman of the ESRF Council, and Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President responsible for innovation, in the presence of Jean-David Malo, Head of the Financial Engineering Unit of the European Commission's Research and Innovation Directorate-General.

It consists of a large-scale financing operation that will help to mobilise the resources required to implement the ESRF-EBS (Extremely Brilliant Source) project. This innovative project, involving the 21 ESRF partner countries, represents an overall investment of EUR 150m over the period 2015‑2022. It covers in particular the creation, within the existing infrastructure, of a new storage ring with unrivalled properties which will expand the frontiers of X-ray science and the exploration of matter and materials. ESRF will provide European and international researchers and industrialists a facility of excellence for basic and applied research, with a performance in terms of brilliance 100 higher than today's level and the horizontal emittance of the X-ray beam ten times lower that that achieved with equipment that currently exists or is being constructed. The project also comprises an ambitious instrumentation programme and an intensified "big data" strategy, designed to exploit the properties of this new extremely brilliant synchrotron light source.

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas said, "This first signing under InnovFin Large Projects in France renews our commitment not only to the benefit of fundamental research, but also to the benefit of public health, which is one of the main priorities of Horizon 2020."

"This financing operation is a strong signal: it confirms our commitment to basic research and also to a dynamic region that is dedicated to research and innovation," stated EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. "Supporting innovation is one of the priorities of the European Union's bank. And it is our responsibility to assist world-leading basic research projects, particularly when they have a real impact on the health and daily life of European citizens. The EIB is proud to be helping the European synchrotron in Grenoble with its upgrading and international development project."

"The signing of this agreement with the EIB is a mark of great recognition for ESRF and crucial support for the ESRF-EBS project. By creating a new source of synchrotron light with unrivalled properties, ESRF-EBS is opening up new scientific prospects for the exploration of matter and materials. This project, now backed by the European Union's bank, will contribute to meeting the new scientific, technological, economic, environmental and societal challenges facing our society,” explained ESRF Director General Francesco Sette.

“The 21 partner countries of ESRF are today strongly involved in the ESRF-EBS project. The Council welcomes the signing of this financing agreement which consolidates ESRF's pioneering role and provides Europe and the ESRF's partner countries with a facility of excellence in the area of X-ray science and innovation," added Chairman of the ESRF Council, Bertrand Girard.

The EIB loan is in line with the Horizon 2020 initiative and in particular the "InnovFin - EU Finance for Innovators" programme which provides customised products for financing the research and innovation (R&I) projects of small, medium-sized and large enterprises and promoters of research infrastructure.

General information on InnovFin financial products

Under Horizon 2020, the new EU research programme for 2014-20, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) have launched a new generation of financial instruments and advisory services to help innovative firms access finance more easily. Over the next seven years, "InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators" will offer a range of tailored products which will make available more than EUR 24bn of financing support for research and innovation (R&I) by small, medium-sized and large companies and promoters of research infrastructure. Overall, this finance is expected to mobilise up to EUR 48bn of investment in research and innovation.

Backed by funds set aside under Horizon 2020 and by the EIB Group, InnovFin financial products will be used to support R&I activities, which by their nature are riskier and harder to assess than traditional investments, and therefore often face difficulties in accessing finance. All are demand-driven instruments, with no prior allocations between sectors, countries or regions.  Firms and other entities located in EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries will be eligible as final beneficiaries.

InnovFin Large Projects aims to improve access to risk finance for R&I projects emanating from larger firms, universities and public research organisations, R&I infrastructure (including innovation-enabling infrastructure), public-private partnerships, and special-purpose vehicles or projects (including those promoting first-of-a-kind, commercial-scale industrial demonstration projects). Loans and guarantees from EUR 25m to EUR 300m will be provided directly by the EIB.

ESRF - European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

ESRF, a large international research structure, is the world's most intense X-ray source. Its extremely brilliant light provides unrivalled opportunities for scientists all over the world in the exploration of materials and matter in a very wide variety of fields, including chemistry, physics of materials, archaeology, cultural heritage, structural biology and medical applications, environmental and information sciences and nanotechnologies. Founded in 1988, ESRF is a model of international cooperation with 21 partner countries. In 2015, ESRF launched an innovative and ambitious project, ESRF-EBS (Extremely Brilliant Source) for developing a new generation of synchrotrons, pushing back the boundaries of the exploration of matter and materials, with the construction of a new storage ring within the existing infrastructure.

Member countries of ESRF: France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Benesync (Belgium, Netherlands), Nordsync (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden), Spain, Switzerland.

Associate countries: Israel, Austria, Centralsync (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia), Portugal, Poland, South Africa.