Today in Tallinn, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a €12 million loan with the Estonian company Elcogen. This is the first loan in the Baltic countries under the InnovFin programme. InnovFin is an EU-finance scheme for innovative companies, backed by the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020...
The financing will enable Elcogen to bring its highly efficient fuel cell technology to the market. Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “This deal with Elcogen is a good example that the future of innovation is science-based. We are now making headway in the transition to a resource-efficient and climate-resilient future and we need to bring more ideas like these to market with the help of EU funding.” Fuel cells are a new generation of clean energy technology, which produce clean electricity more efficiently and safely. Fuel cells can produce "green" hydrogen, which will play an important role in the future of energy storage. Fuel cell technology is therefore at the heart of a European and global energy strategy aimed to reduce the use of fossil fuels and limit CO2 emissions by 40% in 2030. A fully integrated Energy Union with a forward-looking climate change policy, guaranteeing security of supply of affordable and sustainable energy for all Europeans is one of the top priorities of the Juncker Commission. Negotiations on the Clean energy for All Europeans package concluded last year, they are an essential element of completing the Energy Union. The loan agreed today will enable the company to invest in the research and development of fuel cells, to increase production volumes and to start its mass-manufacturing processes. This provides Elcogen with the opportunity to bring competitive fuel cell-based electricity and hydrogen solutions to the mass market and meet the growing demand from customers, including leading industrial companies in both Europe and Asia. At completion, the Elcogen plans to manufacture approximately 2 million cells per year, accounting for an electrical capacity of 50MW. More information is available online.
