The EIB financing will boost Talgo’s competitiveness via the development of new rolling stock solutions and the expansion of its product portfolio.
This operation, the third to be signed with Talgo, will finance various investments by the company in research, development and innovation activities connected to the development of key components and systems for low-carbon rail transport vehicles. All the EIB-financed investments will be in line with the EU Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the Climate Bank Roadmap.
As well as delivering safer products and manufacturing processes, the investments will have positive environmental effects related to the development of more energy-efficient rolling stock using recyclable composite materials. They will also help to promote sustainable mobility by gradually increasing passenger and goods rail traffic, fostering an affordable high-speed rail network.
The EIB-financed investment plan includes RDI projects aligned with the EU Horizon 2020 program on Smart, Green and Integrated Transport. The goal of this program is to boost the competitiveness of European transport industries and to achieve a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, and safe European transport system for the benefit of all.
EIB vice-president Ricardo Mourinho Félix said, “We are proud to finance Talgo’s RDI strategy once again, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable transport. This operation again reflects the EIB’s support for helping Spain to achieve an economic recovery focused on the environment, innovation and job creation.”
Talgo chairman Carlos Palacio added, “Talgo has been committed to rail sector innovation since its founding almost 80 years ago. We firmly believe that trains are the immediate response to the climate emergency, and EIB support will enable us to make further progress in decarbonizing the transport system.”
The EIB Group recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to allocate more than 50% of its financing to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the Roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have also been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since early 2021.