Investment
The European Investment Bank has agreed a €30 million loan to support R&D at LISI Group, a French company specialising in high-precision fasteners for use in the aeronautics and automotive industries.
The loan will go towards financing a new design centre for the group’s aeronautics division in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône near Paris. The EIB’s commitment is expected to have a catalytic effect on the finance plan for the project, enabling LISI to consolidate its position as a supplier to automotive and aeronautics manufacturers.
While it is unusual to fund R&D through loans the EIB does so in support of the European Union’s Lisbon Strategy. To date the bank has loaned over €57 billion in support of investment projects contributing to the implementation of the Lisbon agenda, of which some €31 billion was for research, development and innovation projects.
This fits with the EIB’s remit to grant long-term loans in support of viable private or public sector investment projects that meet the EU’s objectives of integration, cohesion and development.
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.