European Investment Bank Grants €50 Million Loan to Lactinov Services
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has sanctioned a €50 million loan to Lactinov Services SAS, a unit of the French dairy cooperative Lact'Union. This financial backing, secured under the EU’s InvestEU programme, aims to support a modernization project spanning from 2026 to 2029. The primary focus areas for this initiative are the optimization of Lactinov's product offerings, technological enhancements, and efforts to decarbonize operations in the Hauts-de-France region, according to the EIB.
The modernization effort will concentrate on Lactinov's facilities located in Abbeville and Braine. Key objectives of this project include boosting production capacity, enhancing industrial performance, and fortifying both food safety and cyber security measures. Furthermore, the initiative seeks to lower carbon emissions associated with manufacturing processes.
This loan will also assist Lact'Union in strengthening its market position within higher value-added segments, particularly in the area of liquid nutritional products. Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, remarked, “With this financing, the EIB is supporting Lact'Union in an ambitious industrial project that combines competitiveness, decarbonization, and local roots.” He emphasized that this marks the first instance of the EIB providing a loan to Lact'Union, aiming to bolster the resilience of the French and European agri-food sectors while contributing to employment in predominantly rural areas.
This financial transaction is in alignment with the EIB's broader strategy to support the agricultural sector and the bioeconomy, which is in line with European objectives surrounding territorial cohesion, climate action, and sustainable agriculture. The EIB Group has launched a pan-European lending framework valued at €3 billion, which intends to mobilize a total of €8.4 billion in investments across the sector's value chains.
In the past two years, the EIB has increased its financial support for agriculture and the bioeconomy, with investments nearing €15 billion, signaling its commitment to these sectors.
