Brussels, 28/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - In Rome, on Thursday 28 June, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Fincantieri signed the first €80 million tranche of a €140 loan for financing the Italian shipbuilder's research and development programmes.
This is the very first financing operation ever undertaken by the EIB in Europe to promote R&D by a company in this sector. The project focuses mainly on three areas: - technological solutions to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the fuel consumption of ships; - the optimisation of ship design, during both the construction and operational stages, so as to increase the safety of vessels and reduce their environmental impact; - and innovative studies (also relating to design) that can reduce the size and increase the accommodation capacity of ships. (OL/transl.jl)