EIB lends EUR 75 million to Bolloré Group to finance its investment in deployment of electric vehicles

European Investment Bank Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive and Bolloré Group CEO Vincent Bolloré today (12 October) signed a EUR 75 million finance contract for the development and operation of an open electric car-sharing service in Ile de France.

On 10 January 2011 the EIB provided Bolloré Group with a EUR 130 million loan for research, development and innovation in energy storage and the flow-management activities of its subsidiary IER.

The new EIB loan to Bolloré Group will be used primarily to fund investment for:

• the deployment of an interconnected infrastructure of parking and recharging stations on public roads and in public car parks;
• upstream R&D activities concerning the implementation of the technology for supporting automatic subscription, billing, recharging and monitoring systems enabling real-time customer and fleet management.

This new EIB loan will support the Bolloré Group in ramping up its activities in energy storage and its applications. As part of the Autolib’ project, the Bolloré Group has provided 1 750 electric cars at 710 stations. To date 38 800 subscriptions have been sold, 13 600 of which are at premium annual rates. Bolloré is also about to launch Bluecar rentals for individuals, as well as solutions combining electro-mobility and photovoltaic power storage.

At the European level, the loan is part of the “energy-efficient Europe” initiative under the Europe 2020 strategy to support the creation of the infrastructure required for green vehicles in general, and electro-mobility in particular. It further demonstrates the priority given by the EIB to innovation and R&D in the automotive sector to develop innovative and efficient low-carbon transport solutions. In 2011, the EIB’s commitment to innovation in the industrial and energy sectors was reflected in a total investment of EUR 595 million in France and EUR 8.7 billion in the European Union as a whole.

EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive was very pleased with the signature of the loan agreement: “This new financial agreement with the Bolloré Group demonstrates our concrete commitment to innovation and R&D in France. Our aim is to develop access to clean, innovative and efficient vehicles. We support cutting-edge technologies as the spearhead for the future to ensure sustainable economic development and create jobs for young people.”

Vincent Bolloré also welcomed this collaboration, saying “This new EIB loan is testimony to the expertise and credibility built up by the Bolloré Group in this field and will enable us to develop new innovations and applications in the strategic area of energy storage.”