SCHAEFFLER MOTION R&D INVESTMENTS

Financing a part of Research and Development (R&D) investments (focusing on human resource costs) for Schaeffler Group's motion technology areas from 2023 to 2026.

The project is designed to support the promoter's goal of developing solutions across the full range of motion technology, focusing on sustainability in selected countries in the EU. The main objective is the development of innovative vehicle and industrial technologies improving overall system efficiency. Focusing to reduce CO2 emissions in individual and public transportation, wind power, hydrogen and other technologies.

The project concerns the promoter's investments to develop more sustainable, energy- and resource-efficient bearing technologies, innovative technologies for electro-mobility and for renewable energy or other industrial applications, addressing and identifying cost-, resource- and energy-efficient solutions to the relevant trends, needs and transformational challenges affecting the promoter's customer industries. It will further knowledge creation and diffusion through the promoter's extensive R&D collaborations with customers, industrial and supply chain partners, research institutes, innovative startups, and through its patenting activities and the reskilling and upskilling of promoter's resources, thus leading to generate significant positive knowledge, environmental and adoption externalities.

Such investments contribute to the Bank's "Innovation, Digital and Human Capital" public policy objective, a part of them also to the EIB Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability policy objective. EIB financing supports the promoter's investments addressing market failures and gaps associated with (i) imperfect competition and incomplete markets for very innovative vehicle electrification and renewable energy technologies, and those addressed by (ii) projects with positive knowledge and environmental externalities generation.

The promoter's experienced management and project implementation capabilities, its focus on innovation, sustainability and orientation to identify efficient customer solutions, its technology edge and industrialisation capability will help implement a sound and sustainable project, integrating positive environmental and social dimensions, contribute to addressing and mitigating market failures, and through its additionality, contribute to the Bank's policy objectives.

The Bank's contribution to the project is underpinned by a combination of advantageous terms, a meaningful loan amount, flexible drawdown terms as well as a positive signalling effect on other financiers, thereby facilitating the project's financing and full implementation. 

The Bank's technical contribution and advice is primarily explained by the guidance provided to align the Project scope with policy objectives at Project origination.



The project's Research and development (R&D) activities do not fall under the Annexes of the EU Directive2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU. Therefore, the activities are not subject to a mandatory environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The Promoter is a private company not operating in the utilities sector and does not have the status of a contracting entity, and thus is not subject to EU rules on public procurement. Under these conditions, the procurement procedures followed by the Promoter are suitable for the project.