The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on 26 January that it is providing a EUR 70 million loan to Austrian company AVL List GmbH (AVL) to help fund research, including R&D projects for hybrid and fully electric powertrains as well as advanced driver assistance systems for connected and autonomous vehicles. The EIB loan was made possible by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe (IPE). The EIB is also providing EUR 48 million in financing for the construction and operation of three new wind farms in Austria (Kreuzstetten IV, Dürnkrut II and Hipples II) with a total capacity of 39 MW. In Spain, the EIB signed a deal worth EUR 30 million with Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) of Palma de Mallorca to replace the city’s all diesel bus fleet with more modern, safer, more comfortable and less polluting vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. The EIB also signed a EUR 100 million loan agreement with Spanish multinational Acciona on 19 January to help the company make strategic investments in sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure and water treatment.