The Institut Català de Finances (ICF) and the Ministry of Business and Labour have launched the ICF Lidera Transició Nuclear loans, a new instrument to finance productive investment in the municipalities affected by the future closure of the Ascó and Vandellòs nuclear power plants.

In total, €34 million will be mobilised, split across two lines: one of €10 million with subsidised interest rates for large investment projects and another of €24 million with preferential terms for smaller investments. The loans can be granted on favourable terms thanks to the contribution of the Fons de Transició Nuclear (Nuclear Transition Fund), which is financed by an environmental tax specific to Catalonia and aims to support the areas affected by the nuclear phase-out in a just energy transition and in their socioeconomic development.

The aim of the ICF Lidera Transició Nuclear loans is to boost economic activity and foster job creation in the municipalities that benefit from the Fons de Transició Nuclear, in order to strengthen and diversify their industrial and business fabric.

The two new lines, managed by the Generalitat’s public bank, will finance projects to create, expand or improve economic activities in the fields of reindustrialisation, the energy transition, the agri-food sector, tourism, new technologies, infrastructure and services, among others.

Companies and self-employed workers located, or in the process of locating, in any of the 95 municipalities within the scope of the Fons de Transició Nuclear, situated within a 30-kilometre radius of the plants, will be eligible to apply for these loans.

Financing for large and small investments

The first line, aimed at large investment projects and endowed with €10 million, will offer loans of between €150,000 and €1.5 million. Thanks to the 2-percentage-point interest subsidy provided by the Ministry of Business and Labour and the Fons de Transició Nuclear, the final interest rate will range from 12-month Euribor minus 0.5% to Euribor plus 1%, with a minimum of 0%. The loans will have a repayment term of 15 years, with a grace period of up to 2 years, and a maximum arrangement fee of 0.25%.

The second line, aimed at smaller investments, endowed with €24 million and co-financed by the Ministry of Business and Labour and the Fons de Transició Nuclear, will offer loans of between €35,000 and €350,000 to finance the investment and the associated working capital. With an interest rate of 12-month Euribor plus a 2% spread and no arrangement fee, these loans can be repaid over a term of 1 to 7 years, with a grace period of up to 1 year.

Applications can be submitted through ICF’s digital banking from today, Monday 9 November, and the loans will be available until the funds allocated to each line run out.