Germany’s fourth largest automotive supplier, MAHLE, announced on Tuesday, August 30, that it has received a loan of €300M from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate research and development on vehicle electrification and the decarbonisation of road traffic.
The projects include investments in environmentally friendly technologies such as electric motor and battery components, thermal management, cooling, and air quality systems, hydrogen and fuel cell components, power electronics, and traction motors.
MAHLE leaps towards sustainable technologies
Stuttgart-based MAHLE is developing climate-neutral mobility, with an emphasis on electromobility and thermal management, as well as additional technological areas for lowering CO2 emissions, such as fuel cells and highly efficient combustion engines that operate on e-fuels or hydrogen. The firm earns more than 60 per cent of its revenues without relying on internal combustion engines. This percentage is expected to rise to 75 per cent by 2030.
Michael Frick, MAHLE’s chairman of the Management Board (ad interim) and its chief financial officer, says, “Taking responsibility is part of MAHLE’s DNA as a foundation-based company. We see the Paris climate agreement as a binding mandate to minimise emissions caused by road traffic. Through investments in zero-emissions technologies, we are accelerating the transition to a reduced carbon footprint, helping to make individual mobility more efficient, more sustainable, and therefore more environmentally compatible.”
EIB’s efforts in decreasing carbon footprints
As per the lending criteria, the EIB may fund a large portion of MAHLE’s research, and development programmes since the company’s investments in sustainable technology seek to decrease the carbon footprint of transportation dramatically.
Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President and in-charge of climate action at EIB, says, “We are proud to support MAHLE’s research and development in innovative technologies for zero-emissions vehicles. With this investment, together we will contribute to a more efficient and sustainable European transport system. The project is aligned with the EIB’s Climate Bank Roadmap in support of international climate goals. This is a truly European project, with research being carried out in Germany and seven other EU countries.”
About EIB
The EIB’s efforts are prioritised in the following areas: climate and environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized companies, infrastructure, and cohesion. The EIB works closely with other EU institutions to promote European integration, help the European Union grow, and back EU policies in more than 140 countries around the world.
About MAHLE
MAHLE is a worldwide development partner and supplier to the automotive industry, with clients in the passenger and commercial vehicle sectors. The product range of the Stuttgart-based technological group, founded in 1920, spans critical areas in powertrain and air-conditioning technologies for electric and other alternative drives, as well as highly efficient combustion engines.
MAHLE products can be found in every second car on the planet. Its components and systems are also employed off-road in stationary applications, mobile machines, ships, and trains. MAHLE expects to achieve €10.9 billion in revenues by 2021. It operates in over 30 countries and employs over 71,000 people across 160 manufacturing sites and 12 key research and development facilities.
