1 How high are the financing requirements?
Major efforts are required for the sustainability and transformation of the economy. The climate-neutral and digital transformation in NRW requires high volumes of investment and financing from companies and the public sector.
According to various scenario studies, the European Union will have to invest between 758 and 1055 billion euros annually in industry, the energy sector, transport and the construction sector by 2050 in order to achieve successful decarbonization. For NRW, this means annual investments of between 61 and 85 billion euros. Other studies assume up to 91 billion euros per year.
| Original source | Original transformation path | Region of the orginal source | Yearly investments in NRW in billion euros |
| Allianz Trade | 2023-2050 | Globally | 90 |
| BCG-BDI | 2021-2023 | Germany | 91 |
| EWI | 2023-2030 | Germany | 81 |
| GCEC | 2015-2030 | Globally | 74 |
| McKinsey | 2021-2045 | Germany | 75 |
| Nextra et al. | 2021-2045 | Germany | 71 |
| OECD | 2016-2030 | Globally | 75 |
| WEF | 2016-2030 | Globally | 89 |
| Average of these studies for 2024-2045 | 81 | ||
2 Who will finance the investments?
In principle, private capital is available in NRW to finance the climate-neutral and digital transformation, a resilient energy supply and renewable energies. In view of the necessary scale and the transformation risks, the money from financiers who have claims against customers, as is the case with banks and insurers, cannot simply flow into transformation projects.
Instead, the entire financial ecosystem is needed for risk sharing to work. To achieve this, investors and those seeking capital must come together in NRW. Reliable framework conditions and appropriate, risk-appropriate profitability prospects for companies are necessary for the transformation of business models.
3 What financing options do banks offer?
Banks offer a wide range of financing instruments, ranging from short-term liquidity solutions to long-term investment projects. These primarily include various loans (investment loans with longer terms, working capital loans, guarantee loans or sureties), but also leasing and mezzanine capital (e.g. convertible loans). Banks operate or already use platforms for corporate financing, e.g. to offer customers better conditions when brokering loans.
When financing sustainable or digital business models, products or processes, other factors and risks play a role in addition to the classic criteria (e.g. amortization period, expected return, availability of equity and debt capital). These include the introduction of new technologies, decarbonization, business model innovations, reputation and regulation.
The choice of the right instrument for financing transformation investments depends on the company's situation, its creditworthiness and the planned projects. Advice from the banks is essential here. Preparation, implementation and follow-up of the financing and credit discussion are of central importance.
5 Subsidies from NRW.BANK
With the NRW.BANK Invest Zukunft program, NRW.BANK is offering more favourable financing conditions than ever before to support the economy. The rule of thumb is: the smaller the company and the more it invests in transformation, the greater the savings on financing costs. This is made possible by an interest rate that is 2% below the market rate and repayment discounts of up to 20%. This means that savings of up to € 2 million are possible for an investment of € 10 million. A small company that finances € 500,000 over a period of 10 years can save up to € 170,000. This makes investments profitable more quickly.
Applications for loans from the NRW.BANK.Invest Zukunft program can be submitted via the respective house bank from 19 May 2025. Until then, the house banks will be available to advise companies - as will NRW.BANK's Service Center. All further information on the subsidized investments, application eligibility and other benefits can be found on the Invest Zukunft website. Fin.Connect.NRW welcomes this strong impetus from NRW.BANK and MWIKE for the transformation of the economy.
6 How does Fin.Connect.NRW deal with the topic?
Fin.Connect.NRW focuses on technical discussions and further developments in transformation financing. A regular exchange of experience and knowledge between the players takes place in various event formats. To this end, information from practice and science is prepared and concrete recommendations for action are developed for banks, companies (especially SMEs) and for state policy.
As a result, the financing instruments available to SMEs, banks and the public sector must be continuously reviewed, further developed and bundled in order to achieve a leverage effect. Together with MWIKE and NRW.BANK, our focus at Fin.Connect.NRW is on the following interrelationships:
- Raising awareness of transformation financing and funding instruments
- Highlighting the combinability, but also the limits and gaps of existing financing instruments and funding
- Prepare practice-oriented knowledge and good examples and make them usable
- Analyze and bundle framework conditions, opportunities and necessities for securitization activities of banks and savings banks in NRW and at the same time dock onto national activities.
- Make innovative solutions from FinTechs for transformation financing known and usable
- Examine and develop options for integrating transformation financing into existing or new brokerage platforms for corporate financing
Veranstaltungen zum Thema
NRW.BANK Seminar - Financing strategy for SMEs: Securing long-term liquidity and financing
Studien zum Thema
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