The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Crédit Agricole CIB signed an agreement on 21 September to support electricity-grid investment in the European Union. The EIB will provide up to €300 million in counter-guarantees, enabling Crédit Agricole CIB to build a bank-guarantee portfolio of up to €600 million for clients including grid-component manufacturers.

The EIB said the guarantee structure is expected to mobilise up to €2.4 billion in real-economy investment. Its aim is to help European manufacturers of grid equipment respond to demand linked to the energy transition. The figure does not represent signed construction contracts or completed spending; the arrangement is intended to expand financing capacity for new investment by sharing bank risk. It sits within the EIB’s €1.5 billion package for developing and modernising EU grids and is backed by InvestEU.