The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group has announced the launch of TechEU, the largest financing programme ever dedicated to European innovation, aimed at strengthening Europe’s technological leadership at a time of rapid global transformation and growing geopolitical competition.
The initiative, presented by the President of the EIB Group, Nadia Calviño, has a clear ambition: to support European innovators with more funding, greater agility and simpler access to the financial instruments needed to turn disruptive ideas into real-world impact. “At the EIB Group, we believe in European innovators. And we are going to support them with more financing than ever before,” Calviño stressed.
TechEU will mobilise up to €70 billion in EIB Group financing by 2027, with the objective of generating €250 billion in investment in digitalisation and technological innovation across Europe. The programme is built around three core pillars: increased scale, faster processes and a single access point that supports companies throughout the entire innovation and growth cycle.
As the President of the EIB Group noted, “Europe has talent, but having great ideas is not enough: financing is needed for them to have impact.” While Europe matches the United States in the number of startups created, the real challenge lies in scaling. TechEU is designed to close this gap, enabling innovative companies to grow and remain in Europe, thereby strengthening the continent’s strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty.
Driving clean technologies, space and artificial intelligence
The first wave of TechEU instruments focuses on clean technologies, with up to €18 billion in public and private investment mobilised in key areas such as electricity grid components, wind energy production, biotechnology and reducing energy costs for European businesses. The programme will also provide working capital and liquidity to clean-energy startups, supporting projects ranging from aviation e-fuels in Germany to climate-focused robotics in Latvia.
In parallel, the EIB Group has launched Space TechEU, a dedicated programme designed to help EU banks expand financing for space companies, contributing to the consolidation of Europe’s space industry as a global leader across the entire value chain.
Artificial intelligence is another strategic pillar of TechEU. The programme will support both AI infrastructure and innovative AI startups and scaleups. In this context, the EIB Group has announced, together with the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, a new alliance to invest in next-generation AI gigafactories in the European Union. These advanced facilities will turn data into innovation, combining computing power with talent to develop cutting-edge applications in areas such as health, climate and space.
A critical bridge to scale-up financing in Europe
TechEU will complement the European Commission’s Scaleup Europe initiative and support 1,000 innovators and technology leaders each year, strengthening Europe’s venture capital ecosystem by expanding existing financing tools and creating new instruments where needed.
From biotechnology and life sciences to housing, industrialised construction, clean technologies, AI, space and other future growth sectors, TechEU will support European companies from idea to commercial success.
“This is Europe’s moment to lead the innovation race,” said Nadia Calviño. “With TechEU, we are not only investing in technology; we are investing in Europe’s capacity to remain a beacon of innovation, a trusted partner and an economy ready for the future.”
With TechEU, the EIB Group reinforces its commitment to European citizens, unlocking the potential of pioneering ideas and turning them into success stories. With TechEU, today we build tomorrow.
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