• TenneT Germany raised €3.5 billion through the largest corporate issuance aligned with the EU European Green Bond Standard.
• The EIB invested €74 million across three tranches, its first green bond investment in Germany.
• Proceeds will support grid expansion, offshore wind connections and renewable energy integration across Germany and Europe.

The European Investment Bank has invested €74 million in TenneT Germany’s inaugural €3.5 billion European green bond, backing one of Europe’s largest electricity grid financing programmes.

The four-tranche transaction is the largest corporate bond issuance aligned with the European Green Bond Standard Regulation. It is also the EIB’s first green bond investment in Germany.

TenneT Germany will use the proceeds to expand and modernise the country’s electricity transmission network. Planned investments include onshore and offshore high-voltage infrastructure, North Sea wind connections and wider renewable energy integration.

Capital markets fund Europe’s grid expansion

TenneT Germany issued the €3.5 billion bond across four tranches with maturities of four, eight, 12 and 20 years. The EIB participated in three tranches.

Investor demand reached about 6.3 times the available issuance at its peak. The strong order book reflected demand from investors across Europe and other international markets.

The financing gives TenneT Germany its first direct access to public debt markets. It also creates a capital markets platform for a grid programme expected to require annual investment of about €13 billion until 2030.

“The EIB’s backing for TenneT Germany’s inaugural European Green Bond demonstrates the EIB Group’s engagement to strengthen use of capital markets to accelerate the most critical infrastructure investment across Europe,” said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer. “Grid expansion is not a national issue – it is the backbone of European energy security and cutting energy costs. Without efficient, modern transmission infrastructure, our renewable energy potential goes untapped. The EIB is pleased to support TenneT Germany in this landmark transaction, and we look forward to further deepening our support for Germany’s grid investment programme in the years ahead.”

The bonds are listed on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. They are also expected to appear on the Luxembourg Green Exchange.

EU green bond rules gain a corporate test case

The issuance was structured under TenneT Germany’s €35 billion Debt Issuance Programme, Green Finance Framework and European Green Bond Factsheet.

It complies with the European Green Bond Standard Regulation and the ICMA Green Bond Principles published in 2025. Eligible spending must also align with the EU Taxonomy.

The transaction gives investors a major corporate test case for Europe’s regulated green bond framework. The standard is intended to improve transparency, strengthen use-of-proceeds controls and reduce concerns over greenwashing.

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The EIB has sought to expand the standard from both sides of the market. It is investing in compliant corporate bonds while issuing European green bonds itself. The bank has issued €7 billion under the framework to date.

Its participation could help attract institutional capital to infrastructure projects that require long funding horizons. Transmission networks are particularly capital intensive, while returns often depend on regulation, planning approvals and future electricity demand.

New ownership supports investment-grade funding

The bond follows the completion of TenneT Germany’s new long-term ownership structure. Equity commitments have come from APG, GIC, Norges Bank Investment Management and German state development bank KfW, acting for the federal government.

That ownership base, combined with the bond issuance, establishes TenneT Germany as an independent investment-grade borrower. It must now finance one of Europe’s most extensive grid development programmes.

“The EIB’s participation in our inaugural European Green Bond issuance is a powerful vote of confidence in TenneT Germany’s strategy and our role in building the energy infrastructure that Europe needs,” said Dr Markus Binder, CFO of TenneT Germany. “The EIB’s early support and participation, alongside the exceptionally strong demand from other investors across Europe and internationally, underlines that markets recognise TenneT Germany as a trusted partner in delivering the large-scale grid investments that will shape the future energy system.”

Grid capacity becomes a strategic ESG issue

For corporate leaders and investors, the deal shows how grid infrastructure is moving closer to the centre of Europe’s climate finance agenda.

Renewable generation cannot expand at scale without transmission capacity, interconnection and storage. Delays can increase congestion costs, restrict offshore wind output and weaken power price stability.

The governance challenge is equally significant. Germany must coordinate public policy, private capital and regulated infrastructure planning while maintaining affordable electricity for industry and households.

TenneT Germany’s issuance provides a funding model for that task. Its wider importance will depend on whether Europe can repeat the approach across other grid operators, markets and cross-border energy corridors.