The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend Motor Oil €40 million over ten years as part of a cofinancing arrangement for the company’s new investment in creating a vast network of EV charging and hydrogen stations across Greece.
With this innovative initiative, which is the first of its type in Greece, about 3000 electric vehicle charging stations will be installed for use in the road transportation sector. The infrastructure for transporting hydrogen will consist of a single electrolyzer for producing hydrogen, hydrogen trailers, a feeding terminal to load the trailers, and hydrogen refueling stations.
The project will have a positive impact on the environment by establishing infrastructure for charging and refueling zero-emission vehicles, which will result in decreased noise levels, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution. Through the faster deployment of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) infrastructure, the initiative will also aid in the growth of the hydrogen and electromobility industries. As a result, it will indirectly support the expansion of key market sectors for hydrogen and electric infrastructure as well as the corresponding automobiles.
Ioannis Kaltsas, Head of the EIB’s Investment Team for Greece and Cyprus, and Petros Tzannetakis, Deputy Managing Director of Motor Oil Group, signed the loan agreement at the EIB’s headquarters in Luxembourg.
The Trans-European Network for Transport will be where approximately 49% of the project investment will be concentrated (TEN-T). Furthermore, it is anticipated that the entire network would be installed in less developed and regions of transitional coherence. The charging stations will be accessible to the general public. One of the top goals of the EIB Group’s focused package of support for the REPowerEU initiative, which aims to end the EU’s reliance on fossil-fuel imports, is EV charging infrastructure.
The EIB has contributed €8 billion to private sector company investment in Greece over the past ten years.