The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted the German specialty chemicals company Lanxess a loan for research and development involving sustainable products and production processes. The EUR 200 million finance contract was signed in Leverkusen today.
Lanxess specialises in the development, production and marketing of plastics, rubber, specialty chemicals and intermediates. The 7-year EIB loan will support this multinational company’s sustainability-oriented R&D programme, which is aimed at promoting innovation in the area of sustainable products and production processes and focuses on optimising existing products in terms of quality and environmental impact and developing new products for a wide range of industries as well as improving the energy efficiency of production processes.
Environmental considerations play a key role in the EIB’s lending policy. Lanxess’s R&D programme will give a major boost to the creation of an environmentally sustainable chemicals industry. As EIB Vice-President Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen said at the signing ceremony: “Lanxess focuses on the development of sustainable products and production processes. That is fully in line with the strategic thrust of EU innovation policy and with the priorities of the EIB, which has substantially increased its financial involvement in the environment sector over the past few years.” Lanxess’s finance director Bernhard Düttmann added: “With the EIB we have secured a world-class partner that recognises our innovation potential and will provide us with long-term support.”
Background information:
The EIB is the European Union’s bank. Its purpose is to promote the EU’s objectives by providing long-term loans for viable projects.