73 EV Charging Stations Inaugurated at Banque Raiffeisen

On Wednesday 13 September 2023, Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance, Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy and Claude Turmes, Minister for Energy, carried out the inauguration of the 73 electric vehicle charging stations located at the headquarters of Banque Raiffeisen.

This event took place in the presence of Guy Hoffmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banque Raiffeisen, Yves Biewer, Chairman of the Management Board, and Baiba Grandovska, economic analyst at the European Commission representation in Luxembourg.

Funding for the installation of these terminals comes from an envelope of €30.5 million from the European programme Next Generation EU. This initiative is part of the flagship projects of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, under the coordination of the Ministry of Finance.

The Luxembourg RRP, in its strategic vision, mainly aims at the decarbonisation of transport. As such, a significant budget envelope, representing 68.8% of the total allocated, was dedicated to the fight against climate change and to measures promoting the ecological transition. These charging infrastructures are the result of close collaboration between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Economy and the Ministry of Energy and Regional Planning, which had jointly launched a “call for projects” aimed at to stimulate the installation of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in businesses.

During this official ceremony, Yves Biewer highlighted the fact that “Banque Raiffeisen recognises the importance of its ESG commitments and that it is implementing concrete actions to reduce its carbon footprint. Through our company vehicle policy, we actively encourage our employees to opt for electric or hybrid vehicles, and the installation of these 73 charging stations will facilitate this transition. The support and financial support of national and European authorities are valuable allies in making this important investment a reality.”

Minister Backes said: “These 73 charging stations mark a further step in the implementation of Luxembourg’s recovery and resilience plan. Our fruitful discussions with the European Commission were essential to the realisation of this project. I would like to recall that we have made Luxembourg the champion of the green transition within the European Union, by allocating nearly 70% of our financial envelope to decarbonisation and climate action initiatives. Electric charging stations are spearheading this transition, benefitting from significant financial support from Europe to ensure a more sustainable future for all.”

Minister Fayot added: “To ensure the dual digital and environmental transition of the Luxembourg economy, we must act now and allow companies and their employees to take direct part in it. This is what we do through our various aid schemes and calls for projects. By participating in the first call for projects, Raiffeisen has shown that it is a bank committed to a more sustainable future that contributes to efforts to decarbonise our transport sector and to promote electromobility.”

Minister Turmes concluded: “The commissioning of charging stations at companies constitutes an important step in the development of the charging infrastructure in Luxembourg, by facilitating the charging of electric vehicles of employees and customers at work respectively in doing shopping. Financial aid from the government allows companies to participate in this important development and facilitate the transition to electric mobility for their employees and customers.”

The ministry noted that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg submitted its first payment request relating to the RRP on 23 December 2022, attesting to the achievement of a large part of the planned stages and objectives. The European Commission, in April 2023, formulated a positive assessment of this first request, leading to the granting of €20.2 million in European funds on 16 June 2023.