ZF ACTIVE SAFETY R&D INVESTMENTS

The project will finance the promoter's investments in research and development (R&D) for innovative active safety technologies in automotive braking and steering, improving functional and safety performance of future vehicle applications such as autonomous driving.

The aim is to further develop innovative component and system technologies for vehicle active safety and automated driving applications. The project will also contribute to improve vehicle performance and safety, enhance their overall energy efficiency, reduce emissions and manufacturing cost, and therefore lower the barriers to the adoption of such technologies in the market.

The project concerns the promoter's investments in R&D for innovative active safety technologies in automotive braking and steering systems, developing cost-, resource- and energy-efficient solutions to the relevant trends, needs and transformational challenges affecting the promoter's customer industries. It will further knowledge creation and diffusion through the promoter's extensive R&D collaborations with customers, industrial and supply chain partners, research institutes, innovative startups, and through its patenting activities. It will also contribute to a continued reskilling and upskilling of promoter's resources, in addition to integrating additional skills to meet the needs emerging from the industry transformation. The financing of this RDI project is therefore set to generate significant positive knowledge, environmental and adoption externalities. The project will support the transformation of the automotive and mobility sectors in the direction of increased decarbonisation, electrification, enhanced resource-, energy- and cost-efficiency, and increased safety. It will also, directly and indirectly, help preserve and scale up R&D as well as manufacturing employment in Europe and therefore contribute to economic growth. Such investments contribute to the Bank's "Innovation, Digital and Human Capital" public policy objective. EIB financing supports the promoter's investments addressing market failures and gaps associated with (i) imperfect competition and incomplete markets for very innovative vehicle active safety technologies, and those addressed by (ii) projects with positive knowledge and environmental externalities generation.

The promoter's experienced management and project implementation capabilities, its focus on innovation, sustainability and orientation to identify efficient customer solutions, its technology edge and industrialisation capability will help implement a sound and sustainable project, integrating positive environmental and social dimensions, contribute to addressing and mitigating market failures, and through its additionality, contribute to the Bank's policy objectives. The Bank's contribution to the project is underpinned by a combination of advantageous terms, a meaningful loan amount, flexible drawdown terms as well as a positive signalling effect on other financiers, thereby facilitating the project's financing and full implementation. The Bank's technical contribution and advice is primarily explained by the guidance provided to align the Project scope with policy objectives at Project origination.

The project R&D activities do not fall under the Annexes of the EU Directive2014/52/EU amending the environmental impact assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU. Therefore, the activities are not subject to a mandatory EIA.

The promoter is a private company not operating in the utilities sector and not having the status of a contracting entity, and thus is not subject to EU rules on public procurement. Under these conditions, the procurement procedures followed by the promoter are suitable for the project.