- EIB signs €100 million loan with Valmet in support of the company’s research and development investments for the coming years.
- The financing will be used for R&D in the fields of pulping and fibre technologies, tissue mills, energy production, biofuels and services, to be carried out in Finland and Sweden.
The European Investment Bank has signed a €100 million loan agreement with Valmet, a Finnish developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. The financing will support Valmet’s R&D response to important global trends, ranging from enhancing raw materials efficiency to efficiency in the use of water and energy, as well as using renewable raw materials and reducing Valmet’s customers’ emissions. The supported R&D will be carried out in Valmet’s locations in Finland and Sweden.
With this loan, Valmet will co-finance its R&D investments for 2020-2023 on paper and board mills, pulping and fibre technologies, tissue mills, energy production equipment and equipment to produce biofuels and biomaterials. Valmet’s R&D is expected to bring positive environmental impacts in terms of supporting the development of technologies for sustainable energy generation and the wider adoption of renewable raw materials, improving energy and resource efficiency in processing renewable fibre for use in high-value consumer goods by developing more efficient machines that will reduce the environmental load of downstream operations, as well as supporting the production of bio-based materials and fuels.
EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros stated: “Once the ongoing health crisis is behind us, climate challenges will still be there, which is why the EIB is glad to support Valmet’s efforts in this area. Now is the time to look ahead and see how we can modify traditional businesses for a low-carbon future, so it’s good to see that leading companies such as Valmet are taking these challenges very seriously.”
This EIB first supported Valmet back in 2004. More recently, the EIB signed two loans with Valmet in 2015 and 2018.
Valmet Oyj is a leading global developer and supplier of services and technologies for the pulp, paper and energy industries. The technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production. Its Services division provides spare parts, plant improvements and turnkey packages as well as maintenance outsourcing solutions. The company has over 200 years of industrial history and was reborn following the demerger of the pulp, paper and power businesses from the Metso Group in December 2013. Valmet is amongst the global market leaders in all its core business segments.