Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Uzbekistan: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has issued a US$5m loan to Ecoclimat Group for the launch of a new subsidiary, Angren Insulation. The company will use the loan to build a 32,000t/yr glasswool plant in Tashkent. The plant will use recycled glass as an input and reduce the group’s CO₂ emissions by 85,000t/yr. The insulation producer said that it will help it to meet the growing local demand for mineral-based insulation.

Ukraine: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to invest in a Euro75m programme to boost energy efficiency by launching the Ukraine Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (IQ energy). IQ energy will be implemented through partner-banks UkrSibbank, OTP Bank and OTP Bank. It will also be supported by an extensive energy efficiency awareness campaign.

Eligible borrowers under the programme will be able to receive loans for a wide range of energy efficiency measures. These may include: insulation of walls, roofs and ground floors; installation of modern energy-efficient windows, gas and biomass boilers; heat supply system upgrades; installation of solar thermal systems and many others.

IQ energy is supported by grant funding of up to Euro15m from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P), to which the European Union is the largest contributor. The funds will be used, depending on the type of investment, to reimburse up to 20% of loan amounts for individual borrowers and up to 35% of loan amounts for housing associations. IQ energy also benefits from technical assistance funding for programme implementation, provided by E5P and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

“Despite the substantial decrease in energy intensity over the last decade, the Ukrainian economy remains one of the least energy efficient among all the EBRD’s countries of operations and highly dependent on fuel imports. Being responsible for over 33% of Ukraine’s total energy consumption, the residential housing sector is the largest energy consumer in the country. In this respect, IQ energy will provide much-needed and timely funding but will also help change the energy consumption patterns of domestic households,” said Sevki Acuner, Director of EBRD Operations-Ukraine.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of mid-March 2016, the Bank had a total cumulative commitment of over Euro11bn through 363 projects in the country. The country holds one of the largest housing stocks in Europe with over 10 million buildings.

France: Saint-Gobain and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) have signed an agreement whereby EBRD will increase its participation in Saint-Gobain Construction Products Rus LLC from its current stake of 11% to 33%.

The EBRD equity injection will contribute to financing Saint-Gobain Construction Products' planned investments in Russia for the next three years, including projects in the gypsum, industrial mortars and insulation activities in several regions.

The investments will reflect the Environmental and Social Action Plan that was agreed with EBRD, thereby reaffirming the commitment of Saint-Gobain Group to the highest standards in environmental performance, corporate governance and business conduct.

This operation will contribute to the acceleration of Saint-Gobain's development in Russia, in alignment with the Group's strategy of strengthening its position in fast growing markets.