ICO launches the first call to invest €150 million in sustainable infrastructure under the European Commission's InvestEU program

07 junio 2023

  • The InvestEU program will be backing these investments with €75 million in guarantees to be provided by the ICO as an implementing partner of the European Commission.
  • The ICO will channel resources through venture capital/private equity funds that invest in Sustainable Infrastructure projects and their industrial ecosystem to mobilize–together with the contribution of private investors–a minimum of €300 million.
  • This call, called “Fondos Verdes ICO InvestEU” (ICO InvestEU Green Funds), is part of ICO Group's 2022-2027 Strategy, with actions that promote projects of public-private collaboration towards the green and digital transition.

The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), as an accredited Implementing Partner of the European Commission, has opened the call for proposals to channel €150 million–backed by a guarantee package of €75 million under the InvestEU program–into a maximum of three Venture Capital/Private Equity Funds investing in sustainable infrastructure and its industrial ecosystem in the EU, preferably in Spain.

The resources channeled by the ICO under the guarantees of InvestEU will–with the participation of private investors–mobilize a minimum of €300 million towards projects in energy, sustainable transport, environment and resources, critical infrastructure and social infrastructure. These investments will help the EU to achieve its broader strategic objectives of ensuring the dual green and digital transition.

The InvestEU program provides EU funding guarantees to Implementing Partner accredited entities, including the ICO, to increase their risk-bearing capacity, thereby helping to mobilize public and private investment for EU policy priorities.

Call for application for InvestEU Green Funds

The ICO has today published on its website the terms and conditions of the call:
www.ico.es /web/guest/programa-de-garantias-investeu to select up to three private equity/venture capital funds to channel the €150-million investment in sustainable projects in accordance with the parameters set out in the InvestEU program.

This is an open competitive selection. The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, 3 July 2023, at 2 pm. The selection process will prioritize the achievement of climate and environmental objectives included in the InvestEU program and will take into account, among others, the experience and performance of the fund managers. In addition, support for less mature technologies, such as hydrogen or offshore wind, will also be considered.

The ICO as an Implementing Partner

The ICO obtained Implementing Partner (IP) status in December 2020 after passing the accreditation process with the European Commission, which qualifies it to manage funds from the EU budget, both from the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 and the Next Generation Funds.

Since then, the ICO has been working, with the European Commission and its European counterparts, in designing and implementing various products and public-private partnerships. The aim is to channel EU funds into Spanish projects that promote the green and digital transition objectives of the national Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

These products–designed on the basis of the ICO's expertise and experience as a national promotional bank and financial instrument of economic policy–are intended to promote the different sectors and priorities of EU policies through the use of European resources in their three dimensions: financing, guarantees and subsidies.

In this field of action, the ICO has already contributed, among others, to developing sustainable mobility projects within the European Connecting Europe Facility program. As an Implementing Partner, the ICO has submitted ten Spanish proposals for this program, obtaining total funding of €32 million, which it has supplemented with blended financing to mobilize a total of €263 million in investment.