The European Investment Bank and BNP Paribas announced a €700 million guarantee portfolio for European electricity-grid manufacturers on 29 September. Each institution will contribute €350 million. The portfolio is expected to support up to €2.8 billion of investment in the real economy. The European Union’s InvestEU programme backs the arrangement.
The transaction forms part of the EIB’s €1.5 billion Pan-EU Power Grid package. Reuters reported that the new portfolio follows a separate €1 billion wind-energy guarantee agreement signed by the same institutions in February 2025.
GUARANTEES TARGET A SUPPLY-CHAIN BOTTLENECK
Large electricity projects often require manufacturers to provide financial guarantees before receiving contracts, and the portfolio is intended to free up financing capacity otherwise consumed by such guarantees.
Rodolphe Vergeaud, co-head of transaction banking at BNP Paribas, said the agreement strengthens the bank's capacity "to support manufacturers of essential electricity grid components."
INVESTEU AMPLIFIES COMMERCIAL-BANK CAPACITY
BNP Paribas will use the counter-guarantee structure to expand its financing capacity for manufacturers serving electricity grids. EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said the EIB Group invested €33 billion in energy in 2025, including €11.6 billion in grids and storage.