Netherlands

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €25 million loan agreement with Klaipėdos vanduo, the municipal water company in the Lithuanian city of Klaipėda, in support of its 2023-2026 investment programme. The investments aim to future-proof both the water supply and the handling of storm- and wastewater. Included in the financing package are the construction and rehabilitation of the water supply, stormwater and sewer networks, as well as the extension, rehabilitation and modernisation of water supply, wastewater and stormwater treatment plants and their connected infrastructure. Finally, the purchase of water meters, operation and maintenance equipment and machinery, and investments to improve ICT processes are also covered.

Dutch AgriTech innovator In Ovo has signed a €40 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank. The Leiden University spin-off aims to scale up its proprietary Ella® technology. In Ovo’s high-throughput screening machine can identify the sex of eggs at an early stage, allowing hatcheries to only hatch laying hens, and eliminating the need to cull male chicks directly after hatching. Worldwide, an estimated 6.5 billion male chicks are killed every year in the production of laying hens. The technology ultimately results in an egg production channel with higher animal welfare and lower CO₂ emissions.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed its largest ever loan agreement in the Czech Republic, with a CZK 24 billion (€992 million) contract with the Ministry of Finance to support the upgrade of the country’s rail network. Through Správa železnic, the national railway infrastructure administrator, which falls under the authority of the Transport Ministry, the loan will support the modernisation and retrofit of trans-European networks (TEN-T) railway lines in the country and enable the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).