Eavor Technologies has received a loan of close to EUR 45 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the commercial-scale Eavor-Loop geothermal project in the town of Geretsried in Bavaria, Germany. The EIB loan comes with a guarantee by the European InvestEU programme.
The project is co-financed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), ING Bank N.V. (ING) and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (Mizuho) and is insured by Japan’s Export Credit Agency, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI). It qualifies as a green loan in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Green Loan Principles. The combined support from the EIB, JBIC, ING and Mizuho amounts to €130 million. Green Giraffe Advisory acted as the sole financial advisor to the Borrower to structure the debt financing package.
The project is also being developed with the support of a EUR 91.6-million grant from the EU Innovation Fund.
Eavor’s total investment is expected to reach €350 million. The Eavor-Loop will provide heating to households and businesses, as well as electricity. Eavor has already signed an offtake contract with the local heat-provider and intends to start heat delivery in 2026, increasing the supply stepwise. Eavor-Loop has started developing a second project in Germany to supply 15-20% of the demand for district heating in Hanover in the German state of Lower Saxony.
“We are impressed and honoured that, after the EU Innovation Fund, the European Investment Bank is now also co-financing our project in Geretsried. Europe has recognised that the Eavor-LoopTM is a scalable key technology for achieving climate neutrality and significantly more energy security on this continent,” said Daniel Mölk, Executive Vice President Europe Operations of Eavor.
“In addition to wind- and solar-energy, geothermal heat provides a natural, steady and reliable source of clean renewable energy. The Eavor-LoopTM therefore supports the transition to a carbon-neutral energy system in Germany and helps the country to get independent from fossil fuels, while adding to energy security for the people and businesses,” added Nicola Beer, EIB Vice-President with oversight of financing in Germany.
“This project will provide low-carbon heating to thousands of households and businesses. It is an example of the role the geothermal industry will play on the road to net-zero. Switching from fossil fuels to geothermal energy can help decarbonise the EU population’s energy needs and reduce our energy bills,” further commented Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate Action.