The French energy transition has been given a third financial boost in the amount of €50 mln from the Juncker Plan’s investment fund.
The funding has been awarded to Omnes Capital, a private equity fund specialising in financing small and medium enterprises (SME), to support the launch of its third renewable energy fund Capenergie 3.
It is hoped that this will raise €200 mln of investment capital by mid-2016 and a total of €1 bln in the long term.
This will mainly be used in renewable energy production and heating networks, and the project is expected to create up to 500 new jobs, according to Horizon2020.
Serge Savasta , Omnes Capital representative, said: “With €100 mln of capital, we will be able to invest one billion. That is the magic of the European Investment Bank. And this money will not only be used for big projects, but also for smaller ones.”
The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) has previously invested in two French projects, both of which were related to the energy transition.
Together with Horizon 2020, the European Commission’s research and innovation programme, the Juncker Plan aims to invest €30 bln in the EU’s innovative SMEs.
Image: EIB