2.3. Green finance & EU Taxonomy

Our vision “For a successful energy transition in a sustainable world” requires immense investments to be made in the expansion of the grid to support the integration of renewable energy into the system. This expansion - which includes offshore wind farm connections, the construction of new and necessary grid infrastructure and the construction of cross-border interconnectors - will support the sustainable electrification of society and, ultimately, the achievement of climate neutrality by 2050, in line with the European Green Deal.

Green Finance

The Elia group will increasingly finance these ‘green’ investments with green bonds. Appropriate frameworks have been established for this purpose. The publication of the Green Finance Framework and the Eurogrid membership of the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network (NSBN) enable us to include this ‘green’ aspect in our financing and accelerate the transition to net zero.

In 2020, Elia Transmission Belgium SA/NV signed a €650 million revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with a pricing mechanism linked to three sustainability performance targets.

50Hertz Transmission GmbH published its first Green Bond Impact Report in 2021. The report is a mandatory component of the first green bond issued in 2020 (which amounted to €750 million). It was used to finance projects including the grid connections to Ostwind 1 and 2 the connections leading to the offshore wind farms located to the northeast of the island of Rügen.

EU Taxonomy

Sustainable finance plays an essential role in achieving the EU’s policy objectives. The EU Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth led to the creation of the EU Taxonomy, a classification system for sustainable economic activities. It was designed to help identify businesses that contribute to climate neutrality. An analysis of eligibility and alignment of Elia group’s activities with EU Taxonomy was carried out and a case study has been published in cooperation with the consulting and auditing firm Deloitte.

For comprehensive reporting on the EU Taxonomy eligibility, please refer to Section 9. Reporting on the EU Taxonomy Regulation.