ESS signs agreements regarding EUR 300 million line of credit

European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS) has signed agreements regarding an in aggregate EUR 300 million line of credit with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK). The bridge financing enables ESS to follow its time plan for the research facility at this stage of the construction phase.

ESS is a large-scale research facility that will include the world’s most powerful neutron source. It is one of the largest scientific and technical infrastructure projects being built today. ESS is a European collaboration with presently 15 member and observer states. Sweden and Denmark are the host states.

The agreement gives the research infrastructure project in Lund, Sweden, a credit that extends over seven years. EIB, NIB and SEK each contributes with up to EUR 100 million, a total of EUR 300 million. It is the first time that EIB, NIB and SEK collectively step in and grant bridge financing to a large European research infrastructure project. It is also the first time that an ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) gets access to external financing of this kind.

ESS was assisted by Mannheimer Swartling.