EIB to lend Vaillant Group EUR 120m for heat pump development

Germany-based heating systems manufacturer Vaillant Group will receive a EUR-120-million (USD 114.78m) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance the research and development of electric heat pumps.

The loan will support the company's transition to electric heat pumps and will be tied to environmental criteria, a joint press release said on Wednesday.

The agreed financing will be used for the company's research and development project at its head office in Remscheid, Germany, as well as for investments in France, Spain and Slovakia.

Founded in 1874, Vaillant is a family-owned business that manufactures heating, air conditioning and ventilation solutions under the Vaillant, Saunier Duval and DemirDokum brands. Its heat pump sales grew by more than 50% in each of the past two years amid surging demand for clean heating solutions.

The company noted in the statement that it poured EUR 300 million into new technologies in 2021 and pledged to further increase investments in this area in the coming years.

Commenting on the loan, Vaillant's CFO Stefan Borchers said that the funding will give the company an even greater financial scope to accelerate its transformation in line with its green and ESG-linked financing strategy.

On his part, EIB's Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: "Projects like this will help to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, which is currently responsible for one-fifth of overall emissions”.

(EUR 1 = USD 0.956)

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