- EIB Group responds to weak investment and geopolitical risks
- More than €5 billion for companies
- €4.7 billion for energy projects
- From Traton to Vulcan lithium: EIB Group investments bolster industrial innovation, security and climate action
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) increased its financing in Germany to a record €10.4 billion in 2025, up from €9.6 billion in the previous year. This is the highest level since the start of its operations in Germany in 1960.
The funds are expected to trigger total investment of €40 billion, amplifying the impact far beyond the EIB Group’s direct contribution. Of the €10.4 billion, €9 billion came from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and €1.4 billion from its subsidiary, the European Investment Fund (EIF).
Of the record €10.4 billion, €4.7 billion went into energy projects, more than €5 billion supported businesses, including innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-caps, and €1.65 billion was spent on transport and affordable housing. Together, these EIB Group investments lay essential foundations for Germany’s future – from a secure, clean energy supply and industrial modernisation to modern mobility and housing.
EIB Group financing is a response to weak investment and geopolitical risks. It strengthens Germany’s resilience, competitiveness and security, supporting innovative companies in energy supply, critical raw materials and military infrastructure.
EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer said: “With our record €10.4 billion commitment, we are demonstrating that Germany is at the centre of the EIB Group’s financing efforts – strengthening resilience, competitiveness and security in times of uncertainty. From more efficient lorries and modern grids to lithium in Landau and flood protection along the Emscher, every euro goes into real projects that protect people, support businesses and reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy. None of this would be possible without close cooperation with municipal utilities, banks, businesses and public authorities. These partnerships are key to mobilising investment at the scale required.”
Supporting the German economy
More than €5 billion of total financing went to German companies – through direct EIB loans, EIF equity and venture capital instruments, and credit lines with local banks for small and medium‑sized enterprises and mid-caps. The focus was on forward-looking projects in clean mobility, medical technology and the circular economy.
Highlights include Traton’s development of fuel‑efficient lorries, a precise and minimally invasive epilepsy treatment developed by medtech firm Precisis, and Aurubis’s expansion of modern copper recycling operations for e-mobility and power grids. Through such projects, the EIB Group turns billions of euros into tangible investments that safeguard jobs, keep value creation in Germany and reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy.
Energy and grids: A record year for Germany’s security of supply
With €4.7 billion invested in energy projects, 2025 was the EIB’s strongest year to date in the German energy sector. Around 70% of this financing is being channelled into modernising electricity grids, including high‑voltage lines and local distribution networks. The goal is a secure and affordable energy supply for households and businesses that increasingly relies on renewable power. Grids remain a bottleneck for decentralised wind and solar power, and for the wider rollout of heat pumps, electric vehicles and digital systems.
Municipal utilities were a key focus. In Karlsruhe, the EIB is financing modern heating and electricity infrastructure that will help ensure stable energy costs for residents and businesses. In Mecklenburg‑Western Pomerania, it is supporting grids, storage and renewables, helping the region to become an electricity exporter and providing greater planning certainty for energy‑intensive industries.
Resilience, security and defence
The EIB is also working to strengthen Germany’s critical raw materials supply, military security and climate resilience. In doing so, it addresses three major strategic issues: access to strategic raw materials, Europe’s defence readiness and better protection against climate risks in an industrialised nation.
In Landau (Rhineland‑Palatinate), the Bank is providing €250 million for Vulcan’s lithium project, Europe’s first large‑scale direct lithium extraction initiative. The project is expected to cover 12% of Europe’s projected demand for lithium hydroxide in 2030. It will reduce the battery and automotive industries’ dependence on imports, while also supplying carbon‑neutral district heating to local communities.
The EIB is contributing more than €540 million to new infrastructure in Lithuania for Germany’s armed forces, strengthening NATO readiness along Europe’s eastern flank. It is also investing €100 million in flood protection in North Rhine‑Westphalia’s Emscher‑Lippe region, where climate adaptation infrastructure will offer better protection against extreme weather for around 3.7 million people, reduce economic losses and enhance the region’s appeal as an industrial base and residential area.
Outlook: Innovation, defence and resilient supply chains
In the coming years, the EIB Group will focus on four strategic priorities in Germany, building on the competitiveness and climate agenda launched in 2024:
- Technology scaling under the TechEU programme: EIB financing will help German deep tech and quantum companies to grow in Europe and ensure “Made in Germany” innovation stays in the single market.
- Venture capital and startup ecosystem (ETCI 2.0): European megafunds will provide growth capital for German entrepreneurs and attract more private investment to Europe’s innovation ecosystem.
- Defence industry and small business supply chains: Through partnerships with commercial banks, the EIB will finance German suppliers in security‑related technologies, supporting Europe’s defence capabilities.
- Resilient supply chains: The focus is on building robust value chains for key technologies and raw materials to reduce Europe’s dependence on individual third countries and secure its economic and political autonomy.
Background information
EIB Group
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States.
In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing for more than 870 high-impact projects across eight key priority areas that support EU policy objectives: climate action and environmental sustainability, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Agreement.