Eiffel Investment Group and CN Solutions, a subsidiary of the Effy Group, presented their new joint project at a meeting held in conjunction with the European Investment Bank and ADEME (National Agency for the Environment and Energy Management) on the topic of financing the energy transition. This project to optimise the energy consumption of two production sites of SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise (OLMIX Group) illustrates the relevance of the innovative financing model implemented by Eiffel Investment Group in support of energy efficiency.

Eiffel Investment Group and CN Solutions, a subsidiary of the Effy Group, presented their new joint project at a meeting held in conjunction with the European Investment Bank and ADEME (National Agency for the Environment and Energy Management) on the topic of financing the energy transition. This project to optimise the energy consumption of two production sites of SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise (OLMIX Group) illustrates the relevance of the innovative financing model implemented by Eiffel Investment Group in support of energy efficiency.

Eiffel Investment Group: innovative financier of energy efficiency

Whilst energy efficiency projects are vital for combating climate change, they remain complicated to finance. They require local funding that is difficult to obtain from traditional financing operators. To meet this challenge, Eiffel Investment Group deploys innovative financing solutions thanks to the Eiffel Energy Transition fund.

For example, Eiffel Investment Group and CN Solutions (Effy Group) have devised a financing scheme for energy efficiency projects, which was implemented for the first time in March 2018 and again recently via the EUR 6m bridging facility accorded by the Eiffel Energy Transition fund to CN Solutions. This credit line will serve to pre-finance three energy efficiency projects to be carried out by CN Solutions, the first of which will be implemented at the production sites of SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise, a subsidiary of OLMIX, in Merdrignac (Côtes d’Armor) and La Trinité-Porhoët (Morbihan).

This new financing operation already brings Eiffel Energy Transition's investment in energy efficiency to EUR 20m. The fund’s operating model has two key advantages:

• it is adapted to the projects’ high degree of granularity (a multitude of small-scale projects each costing tens or hundreds of thousands of euros, which are more difficult to finance via traditional lenders); and
• it meets the key requirement of pre-financing energy efficiency operators, unlike traditional lenders which generally only finance projects once the works have been completed and energy savings have been achieved.

Eiffel Energy Transition fund manager Pierre-Antoine Machelon said: “The innovative financing model devised and implemented together with CN Solutions a few months ago is proving its effectiveness and showing how easily it can be replicated. We are delighted with this partnership, which is getting stronger with each successive financing operation put in place.”

Mathias Welschbillig, CEO of CN Solutions, a subsidiary of the Effy Group, added: “The combined expertise of energy efficiency and Energy Saving Certificates (ESCs) means that we can propose the best available technologies. The financing structure put together by Eiffel and CN Solutions has enabled our customer to focus on its core business in the spirit of sustainable development whilst being certain of respecting the environment in the long term.”

Leading by example: the energy efficiency project of CN Solutions and SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise

The project concerns the overhaul of cooling generation and distribution at both sites, the recovery of waste heat from the cooling generation units and the optimisation of the refrigeration system (using the OCP© regulation tool). In addition to these works, CN Solutions will roll out an energy supervision solution called BEX© to measure and monitor the energy performance of heat recovery installations and their energy requirements in real time.

The energy efficiency refurbishment of two meat cutting plants located in Merdrignac and La Trinité-Porhoët presents a major challenge for SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise, a well-known turkey meat supplier.

This project is expected to enable it to improve its competitiveness whilst deploying a responsible low-carbon production model. The expected annual energy savings are estimated at more than 1 000 MWh, or EUR 77 000, i.e. the equivalent of the energy consumption of 400 homes.

Besides the solution offered, energy efficiency financing enables companies committed to reducing their energy consumption to contribute to a decarbonised economy whilst increasing their competitiveness.

Among the many projects undertaken by CN Solutions in France and abroad, this is one of the most promising in terms of equipment upgrading, energy-saving potential and combined financing solutions, thanks to the Eiffel Energy Transition fund and Energy Saving Certificates. Having identified sources of further savings at the SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise sites, other energy efficiency projects are now under way.

SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise is fully committed to sustainable development and is developing alternative solutions to promote an innovative turkey industry thanks to the use of seaweed at all stages of breeding. This ensures that the animals have a healthy digestive and immune system. The company sells antibiotic-free turkeys and turkey products, thus helping to combat antibiotic resistance.

Jean-Marie Vallier, Deputy CEO of SOVIPOR-La Trinitaise, a subsidiary of the OLMIX Group, said: “In the same vein, La Trinitaise and its shareholder OLMIX are also committed to low carbon research, with a view to making energy savings and using renewable energy. This investment in energy efficiency refurbishment at the Merdrignac and La Trinité-Porhoët plants forms part of our low carbon approach and will enable us to make savings in the long term that are vital to our turkey production business.”

The Eiffel Energy Transition fund is meeting the challenge of energy efficiency financing with the support of the European Investment Bank and ADEME

Through their investment in the Eiffel Energy Transition fund, institutions strongly committed to energy transition such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU bank – and ADEME are rising to the challenge of financing energy efficiency projects whose scale and granularity are not tailored to traditional lending. The EIB's support for the Eiffel Energy Transition fund also benefits from an EU guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe (commonly known as the Juncker Plan), enabling Eiffel Investment Group to grant optimal financial terms to the project promoters.

"Supporting energy transition is one of the core priorities of the European Union's bank. That is why we are developing innovative financial instruments while stepping up our activities in support of smaller-scale projects. Our goal is to reduce energy consumption in Europe by a third by 2030”, said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “This new operation financed under the Juncker Plan reflects the high-quality partnership that has been forged between the EIB and Eiffel Investment Group to support project promoters in the heart of their own regions.”

ADEME’s Deputy Director General Fabrice Boissier remarked: “Numerous and diverse companies can increase their competitiveness thanks to energy efficiency operations. To speed up their implementation, assistance tools that can be tailored to the diversity of projects are needed. The support provided by future investments to the Eiffel Energy Transition fund to develop this innovative assistance shows ADEME's willingness to find ways to support small-scale projects in a responsive manner.”