The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 75 million loan with real estate company Castellum, for the construction of two “Nearly zero-energy buildings” in Sweden. The loan was made possible by the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), central pillar of the European Commission's Investment Plan for Europe.

“We’re particularly proud to support Castellum in this initiative, also since climate action is high on the agenda for the European Investment Bank.” said Romualdo Massa Bernucci, Director for EIB lending in the Nordic countries. “Both residential and office buildings are responsible for a large part of the CO2 output, so making them more energy efficient is an important step in mitigating our footprint in large cities.”

Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner, said: "Improved energy efficiency in buildings is an important part of our transition towards a greener society but it often requires significant investments. This is where the Investment Plan can play an important role. With today's agreement, the European Fund for Strategic Investments will contribute to Sweden's development towards a reduced dependency on fossil fuels."

Castellum will use the loan to construct two new Nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB) office buildings, specifically the “Torsplan” building in the Hagastaden part of Stockholm and the “Citypassage” in central Örebro.

“We at Castellum are convinced that sustainability efforts provide the Group with a competitive advantage. It is economically viable, both short and long term, to work with sustainability. Well integrated sustainability efforts contribute to a more efficient management and improved control of our properties. We are pleased to see that the EIB finds our projects attractive and is willing to support our ambitions”, says Castellum’s CEO Henrik Saxborn.

“It´s positive to us that we can benefit from attractive financing from the EIB on an unsecured basis”, says Castellum’s CFO Ulrika Danielsson. “We see it as a sign of trust, as well as a quality stamp”.

With climate action as a main priority for the EIB, Castellum’s initiative in constructing NZEB fits perfectly with the Bank’s strategy and comes after a number of similar projects that the EIB supported recently in Sweden, Finland and Germany.