Spain: EIB gives Acciona € 185 million R&D loan to support among others; water treatment and desalination

Desalination and water treatment are among the fields to be supported by a € 185 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Spanish company Acciona SA in support of its research, development and innovation (RDI) programme.

Speaking at the signing ceremony on 18 December 2009, EIB vice-president Carlos da Silva Costa said, "Acciona has gone down the road of innovation to maintain its competitiveness and position itself in the market as a provider of high value-added solutions with a strong RDI content. This project is therefore in total harmony with the policies and objectives of the European Union and the European Investment Bank itself."

The EIB will be financing a number of actions under Acciona's wide-ranging RDI investment programme in the fields of

• renewable energies;
• environmentally sustainable engineering applied to construction materials and processes;
• water treatment and desalination.

The bulk of the planned activities will be carried out at Acciona's RDI facilities in Madrid, Barcelona and Pamplona.