The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a €40 MM 10-yr loan to Motor Oil, co-financing its new investment to develop an extensive network of EV charging and H₂ stations throughout Greece.

The pioneering investment, the first of its kind on such a scale in Greece, will see the deployment of about 3000 electric vehicle charging stations for road transport. The H₂ transport infrastructure will include one electrolyzer for H₂ production, H₂ trailers, a feeding terminal to load the trailers, as well as H₂ refueling stations.

By rolling out zero-emission vehicles charging and refueling infrastructure, the project will generate environmental benefits, including reduced air pollution, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower noise. The project will also contribute to the development of the H₂ and electromobility industry through the accelerated deployment of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) infrastructure. It will thus indirectly contribute to the growth of relevant market segments for electric and H₂ infrastructure, as well as the associated vehicles.

The loan agreement was signed at the EIB’s headquarters in Luxembourg on February 17 by Ioannis Kaltsas, Head of the EIB’s Investment Team for Greece and Cyprus, and Petros Tzannetakis, Deputy Managing Director of Motor Oil Group.

“We are very pleased today for the closing of this agreement with the European Investment Bank. This is another important step for the Motor Oil Group, towards the energy transition in the current challenging energy environment,” said Petros Tzannetakis, Motor Oil Group Deputy Managing Director. “We are committed to creating extraordinary results and providing added value through strategic coalitions. For the past 50 years, Motor Oil has been identified with energy. Our priority is to ensure the energy sufficiency of Greece while at the same time meeting the needs for alternative energy sources and green fuels, important for our country’s energy autonomy.”

“The Zero Emissions Vehicle market, including electric and H₂ vehicles, is at a very early stage of development in Greece and through the financing of this innovative project, which features sustainability and environmental characteristics, the EIB will support the transformation of the road transport in the direction of H2 and electric mobility and increased sustainability, while also providing a signal to stimulate further funding from commercial banks on similar projects,” said Ioannis Kaltsas, Head of the EIB’s Investment Team for Greece and Cyprus. “Today’s agreement is the result of many months of work between the EIB and Motor Oil Hellas, as the company works towards creating a sustainable future through its products and operations.”

An estimated 49% of the project investment will be located on the Trans-European Network for Transport. Additionally, it’s estimated that 100% of the network will be deployed in less developed and transition cohesion regions. The charging stations will be public with open access. EV-charging infrastructure is one of the priorities of the EIB Group’s dedicated package of support for the REPowerEU plan, which aims to end EU’s dependency on fossil-fuel imports.