EIB commits €500 million loan to back research and development at Evonik

Essen/Luxembourg. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a framework loan of €500 million to Evonik, the second largest chemical company in Germany and one of the largest worldwide. The loan will be used to finance European research and development activities at the company, which firmly integrated sustainability into all elements of its corporate strategy in 2022.  

The loan will support Next Generation Solutions, the company’s portfolio of particularly sustainable products. This portfolio currently makes up 43% of the overall revenue of Evonik, with a target of more than 50% by 2030. Next Generation Solutions include biosurfactants from Slovakia, lipid nanoparticles from Germany and membranes for gas filtration from Austria, among other products. Europe is the company’s key location for the majority of its research and development.  

Research and development also helps to reduce the company’s footprint by reducing both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from production processes. The company’s climate targets are in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2º Celsius. They were certified by the Science Based Targets initiative, a corporate climate action organisation. In addition, Evonik is striving to revalidate its climate targets in the near future in order to align with a path that limits warming to 1.5º C by 2050.
The EIB loan comes with a term of six years from the date of utilisation. The EU bank will thereby complement the existing funding portfolio of Evonik with a long-term financing instrument that offers attractive conditions relative to the current market.

EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer, who oversees financing in Germany, said: “EIB financing focuses on enabling our clients to develop their own solutions to achieve climate action, circularity and biodiversity goals. We are glad to support Evonik on this path, accelerating the implementation of the company’s ambitious transformation programme.” 

"Every day we are working on more energy-efficient, durable, bio-based and circular solutions. The financing from the EIB is a valuable recognition of our contribution to the sustainable development of Evonik and our customers," added Chief Financial Officer of Evonik Maike Schuh.