The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pirelli today signed a EUR 100m finance contract in support of research and development (R&D) projects by the Pirelli group over the period 2009-2012.

The purpose of the loan is to promote R&D in the field of product and production process innovation, which aims also to reduce the environmental impact of tyres, enhancing their performance and safety standards through the identification of innovative materials and components. The project concerns the activities carried out in Pirelli’s various R&D centres in Italy and elsewhere and comes under the EUR 200m credit line approved by the EIB in July.

This new loan consolidates the relationship between Pirelli and the EIB, which has already contributed to the group’s ongoing commitment to innovation and increased competitiveness worldwide.

“We are pleased to carry on our tradition of supporting the Pirelli Group, which makes investment in research one of the cornerstones of its development policy on the international markets and attaches great importance to the objective of reducing pollutant emissions, which is a priority for the EIB”, stated Dario Scannapieco, EIB Vice-President with responsibility for operations in Italy, Malta and the western Balkans.

The EIB loan”, remarked Pirelli Chairman Mr Tronchetti Provera, “will make a major contribution to Pirelli’s research activities and acknowledges their importance. The Pirelli group has always been firmly committed to this strategy with the aim of improving the quality of its products for the benefit of the consumer and the group’s competitiveness on the market. Today in particular, we are focused on developing products and processes that are increasingly environmentally friendly by, for instance, adopting technologies that not only offer customers safety and high performance but are also ecologically sustainable”.

EIB

The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically viable investment projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the Bank. At end-2008, the EIB’s total financing amounted to EUR 355bn, of which EUR 45bn went to Italy.

PIRELLI Group

Pirelli & C. SpA, which is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is the parent company of a multinational group active in more than 160 countries and with over 135 years’ industrial experience. With a manufacturing base in 23 plants worldwide, Pirelli Tyre is the world’s fifth-largest tyre producer in terms of turnover and the market leader in top-end segments. In the real estate sector, Pirelli RE has activities concentrated mainly in Italy and Germany. Thanks to its focus on technology and research, in recent years the Group has launched a number of initiatives in sectors with a high innovation content, e.g. sustainable mobility and renewable sources of energy, via Pirelli Eco Technology and Pirelli Ambiente. Pirelli Broadband Solutions is active in the broadband access sector.