GREENLIGHT BIO (IEU G)

The project concerns the research & development, registration, commercialisation and manufacturing of a pipeline of Ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi)-based and other biocontrol solutions for plant health and bee health, addressing challenges for farmers and crop protection such as resistance and residues within the EU or benefitting the EU to be launched between 2024 and 2027.

The project could address three main challenges for the farmers and crop protection: resistance, residues and regulation. The promoter proposes an innovative and disruptive formula for agricultural crop protection with reduced soil persistence and may contribute to reducing application or displacing chemicals pesticides classified by the EU as candidates for substitution. It aligns with the EU Green Deal objectives, notably concerning biodiversity and farm-to-fork strategies and targets reducing the use and risk of chemical pesticides, as well as the use of the more hazardous pesticides, by 50% by 2030.

The project is in line with the InvestEU objective of the RIDW Schedule A.1.2 of the EIB InvestEU Guarantee Agreement and the eligible policy area described in article 5 heading 1.5 Bioeconomy. The operation contributes to the InvestEU objective of research, development, and innovation. The purpose of the loan is to provide direct, equity-type financing under the EIB's Venture Debt Instrument to support research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities of an innovative Spanish agritech company focused on developing high performance new plant protection solutions with reduced environmental and toxicological impact. The financing of this project addresses the failure in financial markets for RDI, arising from limited access to commensurate financing due to factors such as information asymmetries, misalignment of incentives, etc. By creating knowledge externalities, the project is expected to provide significant socio-economic benefits, strengthen Spain and Europe's position in the field of sustainable food production, and help create and retain skilled staff in a cohesion area, thus fostering regional development. Thanks to the support of InvestEU, the EIB may provide long-term financing in the form of venture debt to a highly innovative company with no access to commercial debt. By contributing to extending the cash runway and, therefore, de-risking the development plan of the company, the EIB financing is expected to attract third-party investors and accelerate the company's development. The project would not have been carried out (to the same extent) by the EIB without the support of InvestEU.

The promoter's investments concern research, development and innovation activities that are expected to be carried out in existing facilities already authorised for the same purpose and would therefore not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under Directive 2014/52/EU (amending 2011/92/EU). Full environmental details verified during appraisal.

The promoter is a private company, not operating in the utilities sector and does not have the status of a contracting authority; thus, it is not covered by EU Directives on procurement. However, the promoter's procurement procedures are expected to be in line with EIB guidelines for private sector projects. The EIB will verify details during the project due diligence.