CIE - ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AND DIGITALISATION

The project will finance the promoter's research, development and innovation investments (RDI) and related capital expenditures to be implemented in Europe in the 2024-2028 period.

This project will support European RDI and advanced manufacturing investments in vehicle automotive components, including in convergence regions.

The Project concerns the Promoter's investments to develop more sustainable, energy-and resource-efficient manufacturing technologies broad range of metal and plastic forming processes for automotive components. It will further knowledge creation and diffusion through the Promoter's R&D collaborations with customers, industrial and supply chain partners and research institutes. It will also contribute to a continued reskilling and upskilling of Promoter's resources, in addition to integrating additional skills to meet the needs emerging from automotive industry transformation. The financing of this RDI project is therefore set to generate significant positive knowledge, environmental and adoption externalities. 

Such investments contribute to the Bank's "Innovation, Digital and Human Capital" public policy objective, a part of them also to the EIB Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability policy objective. EIB financing supports the Promoter's investments addressing market failures and gaps associated with imperfect competition and incomplete markets for innovative manufacturing technologies, and those addressed by projects with positive knowledge and environmental externalities generation.

This Project will help the Promoter to implement its strategic objectives and and strengthen its know-how, competence and position in the technology fields associated in particular with its sustainability strategy. As such, it will help the promoter to address the evolving market and technology context, the ongoing transformations in its customer industries, the relevant customer needs and to achieve its medium and long-term sales and profitability targets. The Project will add to the social welfare and bring about social benefits, by generating environmental and knowledge positive externalities. 

The Bank's financial additionality stems from the flexible financial product it offers, encompassing features like an extended availability period, a grace period, drawdown flexibility, and the option to switch between fixed and floating interest rates. These advantageous terms, combined with the extended repayment period, increases the Promoter's average debt maturity and strengthen its financial standing. The Bank's financing also has a positive signalling effect, demonstrating the Project's soundness and quality, thereby facilitating the necessary access to funding from commercial banks.

The project primarily concerns investments in research and development that are not specifically mentioned under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU (as amended by 2014/52/EU) and that are expected to be carried out in existing facilities without changing the already-authorised scope; it would therefore not require an EIA under the Directive 2011/92/EU as amended. The environmental details of the project will be reviewed by the Bank's services during the project appraisal.

The promoter has been assessed by the EIB as being a private company not being subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions. However, if after the project appraisal, the EIB were to conclude that the promoter is after all subject to EU public procurement legislation Directive 2014/24/EU, then the EIB requires the promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation Directives 2014/24/EU as well as Directive 89/665/EEC, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with the publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the European Union, as and where required.