The European Investment Bank (EIB) and French financial giant BNP Paribas have signed an agreement in support of European energy grids, confirming their shared commitment to the energy transition, European industrial competitiveness and Europe’s security of supply.
The EIB will provide up to 350 million euros in counter-guarantees, enabling BNP Paribas, which will commit an equivalent amount, to build a portfolio of bank guarantees on behalf of its clients of up to 700 million euros in counter-guarantees to support new investments in energy grids across the European Union.
“The leverage generated by this counter-guarantee is expected to stimulate up to 2.8 billion euro in investment in the real economy,” BNP said.
“This risk-sharing operation aims to increase BNP Paribas’ capacity to support European manufacturers of electricity grid components and enable them to meet the strong demand generated by the energy transition,” it added further.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said, “We are pleased to continue our cooperation with BNP Paribas on Europe’s energy security and green transition. Following our agreement on wind energy last year, we have now concluded a risk-sharing agreement to support companies manufacturing the equipment essential for developing energy grids. In 2025, the EIB Group invested 33 billion euro in energy worldwide, including 11.6 billion euro in grids and storage. In 2026, we are continuing this commitment with the same level of ambition.”
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Rodolphe Vergeaud, Co-Head of Transaction Banking and Head of Trade and Working Capital at BNP Paribas CIB EMEA, noted, “Strengthening Europe’s electricity grids requires mobilising all players throughout the value chain. This agreement with the EIB enables us to go further in supporting manufacturers of essential electricity grid components by increasing our capacity to meet their guarantee needs and support their development.”
This agreement with BNP Paribas forms part of the 1.5 billion euro package dedicated to developing, modernising and strengthening energy grids in the European Union under the “Pan-EU Power Grid package,” an initiative supported by the European Union’s InvestEU programme.
“This package follows the 6.5 billion euro previously made available by the European Union’s bank for wind energy. The EIB and BNP Paribas are also partners in the wind energy initiative, with a 1 billion euro guarantee portfolio under an agreement signed in February 2025,” BNP concluded.
Image Courtesy: BNP Paribas