The European Investment Bank (EIB) is intensifying efforts to spur energy savings by businesses across Europe with a €60 million ($71.1 million) commitment to launch a financing platform run by Solas Capital, an energy transition investment advisor. The EIB will invest the sum into Solas Capital’s successor fund, Solas Sustainable Energy Fund II (SSEF II), to advance energy efficiency projects by small- and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs), which the group cals the backbone of the European economy.
The platform will expand the European Union’s energy-efficiency services market with the goal to make SMEs more competitive and greener by reducing their energy costs and carbon footprint. The co-financing platform is projected to mobilize almost €400 million ($474 million)—including private-sector capital—for the deployment of technologies such as LED lighting, insulation, heat pumps, rooftop solar systems and electric‑vehicle charging stations across several EU countries.
“We are helping deliver real impact through energy efficiency as a service,” said Ambroise Fayolle, EIB vice president. “The result will be lower energy bills for companies and a stronger European economy.”
“We are pleased to deepen our partnership with the EIB, demonstrating how building decarbonisation infrastructure is a crucial pillar of the energy transition, “ said Sebastian Carneiro, CEO and co-founder of Solas Capital. “Thanks to the €60 million co-investment from the EIB alongside SSEF II, we can unlock much needed infrastructure investments for energy efficiency projects—especially for SMEs—and build upon the strong relationships established by the predecessor fund, all the while contributing to European competitiveness and energy security.”
The new co-financing platform follows a €30 million ($36 million) EIB commitment in 2022 to Solas Sustainable Energy Fund (SSEF), a €220 million ($261 million) energy efficiency debt fund advised by Solas Capital. The partnership will continue expanding energy as a service financing offerings, a model in which firms shift from buying physical equipment to purchasing fixed energy services. This approach enables SMEs and other eligible beneficiaries to access proven, cutting‑edge technologies that achieve instant and measurable energy savings. In turn, investors benefit from asset-backed, contracted cash flows, diversifying energy infrastructure portfolios while advancing Europe’s energy transition priorities.
The new platform was inaugurated at a signing ceremony held February 11 in Luxembourg. The event brought together partner banks and other stakeholders to discuss the green intermediated financing and advisory products of the EIB Group, which includes the European Investment Fund (EIF).
EIB Group Energy Efficiency for SMEs Initiative
The platform is the latest project under a broader initiative announced last year called the “EIB Group Energy Efficiency for SMEs Initiative.” Led by the EIB Group and supported by the European Commission, the initiative seeks to help SMEs using proven energy saving technologies to lower their energy bills and boost their resilience and competitiveness. In the three years through 2027, the EIB Group aims to provide €17.5 billion ($20.8 billion) in financing for up to 350,000 SMEs in Europe to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint.
Another partner supporting the initiative is the Solar Impulse Foundation, a nonprofit organization championing “servitization”—energy efficiency as a service, first announced at COP29 in 2024.
The initiative is on track to surpass its targets and delivered €6 billion ($7.1 billion) in financing in 2025, double the amount provided in 2024, enabling up to 150,000 SMEs across Europe to invest in energy efficiency and decarbonization projects in the program’s first year.
The European Investment Bank (ElB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 member states, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. Solas Capital is the European specialist in building and industrial decarbonization infrastructure investments. The company addresses a crucial pillar of the energy transition—energy efficiency and behind-the-meter projects—by providing tailor-made project finance solutions to energy service companies.
—This content was contributed by the European Investment Bank.
