(AGENPARL) – Wed 28 May 2025 PRESS RELEASE2025-223-EN
28 May 2025
EIB supports Bordeaux Métropole Énergies’ investment plan for decarbonisation in the Gironde department
A €90 million loan from the European Investment Bank will enable the company majority-owned by Bordeaux Métropole to strengthen its business as part of its 2024-2028 strategic plan.
The funding will cover multiple aspects of the plan, ranging from the development of renewable energy in the Gironde to the energy renovation of individual properties and jointly-owned buildings.
For the EIB, this financing is also part of the European Union’s plan for the continent’s energy and green transition known as Repower EU.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Bordeaux Métropole Énergies (BME) have signed a €90 million loan agreement in support of a strategic plan for this semi-public company which supports the energy transition of local authorities, businesses and individuals in the Gironde department.
This funding aims at supporting BME in four areas of activity:
development of photovoltaic solutions in urban and rural areas for local authorities or businesses;
creation and extension of district heating and cooling networks for infrastructure sourced by renewable energy;
development of biogas production projects via anaerobic digestion and financing of energy efficiency renovation work on individual properties and jointly-owned buildings.
“We are pleased to support Bordeaux Métropole Énergies in its energy transformation plan, which will have a positive impact across the Gironde department,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle.
“Promoting renewable energy, financing innovative solutions and reducing the energy bill of local authorities, businesses and individuals are the goals of the EIB in terms of climate action and the energy transition, so that EU financing can benefit everyone living in local communities.”
“The EIB’s support marks an important step for BME and its enterprises in their ability to play a key strategic and operational role in building a carbon-neutral territory by 2050,” said Claudine Bichet, Chair of BME’s Board of Directors.
“It enables us to step up our investment in energy and low-carbon solutions along with local authorities and companies in the Gironde department,” said BME Managing Director Audrey Dugal.
For BME, this funding will make it possible to implement the commitments set out in its roadmap published in 2024. It boosts the group’s ability to invest in the region to develop solar photovoltaic projects on roofs, car parks and in ground-based power plants, generate renewable heating and cooling networks, produce biogas and increase the energy-efficient renovation of buildings.
For the EIB, this financing is part of a long tradition of supporting local authorities in France. It also forms part of the Bank’s climate action activity, which is one of the EIB’s strategic priorities, as well as supporting the REPowerEU programme, launched by the European Commission in 2022, aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels and accelerating the green energy transition. By helping people to renovate their homes, this funding ultimately aims to help make the housing sector more low-carbon in France and across the European Union.
Background information
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives in climate action, environment, digitalisation, technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
In 2024 the EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in Europe and across the world. In France, the EIB Group signed more than 100 operations in 2024 for a total amount of €12.6 billion. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.
About the Bordeaux Métropole Energies Group
A major player in local energy transition, Bordeaux Métropole Energies (BME) is a group composed of four subsidiaries (Gaz de Bordeaux, Mixener, Néomix, Regaz-Bordeaux) and two brands (Facirénov and Via33), all committed to decarbonisation. They support local authorities, businesses and individuals in their energy revolution and decarbonisation through energy renovation activities and the construction of a local and diversified energy mix (biogas, solar, heating and cooling, and renewables). BME has been a local semi-public company since 2017 and its shareholding structure comprises public partners such as Bordeaux Métropole (67.9%), private players like Engie (20%), Banque des Territoires (12%) and 13 municipalities of the Bordeaux region (0.1%).
Press contacts:
EIB Group
      
Bordeaux Métropole Énergies
CTer&co Agency
Maguelonne Leroy and Odile Seiter