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The project will finance the research, development and innovation (RDI) programme of Heura Foods, a start-up that produces innovative plant-based food products. It includes RDI capital expenditures investments to boost Heura's development capabilities, as well as RDI activities to develop new plant based food products, in several categories.
The project aligns with the Invest EU Main Priority Areas (MPPA) under the Research, Innovation, and Digitisation Window (RIDW) by contributing to the development of innovative and sustainable plant-based food product, thereby supporting the bio-economy area.
The Project is aligned with the InvestEU objectives of (3) Environment and Resources, and (5) Research, Development and Innovation.
The Project is aligned with EIB Public Policy Goals (PPGs), notably, it supports: ' Innovation, digital and human capital' and 'Sustainable energy and Natural resources.' It includes RDI activities to develop new technologies, processes and innovative plant-based food products, enhancing EU industry competitiveness.
The operation supports a high growth SME and has a higher level of risk associated with the innovative products and processed supported. The supported RDI programme will generate knowledge that will be used to offer products with enhanced nutritional properties and improved climatic and environmental profile in relation to their baseline, hence providing benefits to society, that are not fully reflected in the prices obtained in the market.
Other benefits include a widened spectrum of products for vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian consumers, enhancing availability and variety of food options for this segment, with several benefits, including nutritional ones and alleged health implications. The vast majority of Heura's products have a Nutri-Score of A, which shows the high nutritional value of the solutions offered.
The EIB provides significant financial additionality with high-risk debt financing, crucial for scaling up the Company's (as defined below) operations. The Promoter benefits from the Green Deal Innovation finance product, overcoming challenges in accessing commercial loans due to limited track record and project risks. The proposed financing provides diversification and stability to the borrower's financing by providing alternative funding sources. The Company can benefit from a longer bullet-equivalent tenor and flexible availability period compared to what is available in the market. The EIB's involvement can also help attract private investors for future equity raises.
The financing provided by the EIB is additional to other sources since the investment operations would not have been carried out or would not have been carried out to the same extent by the implementing partner without support from the InvestEU Fund.
The project primarily concerns investments in RDI and capital expenditures 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 EIB 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.