European Investment Bank Lends Money to KONE for Research and Innovation

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €250 million (US$292 million) to KONE to support R&D, innovation and the development of next-generation elevators, escalators, moving walks and intelligent digital solutions, The European Sting reports. The loan will support KONE’s research and innovation program from 2026 to 2029. The activities focus on improving safety and performance and energy efficiency in elevators and escalators. “By supporting KONE’s innovation program, we are helping strengthen Europe’s technological leadership in advanced building systems and supporting high-skilled research and engineering jobs,” said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer. The program supported by the loan will be carried out primarily in Finland with additional activities in Italy and will help maintain highly skilled research and engineering jobs in Europe while advancing technologies that improve energy efficiency of KONE units in buildings. The operation is part of the EIB’s TechEU initiative, which supports European companies developing advanced technologies that strengthen innovation, industrial competitiveness and Europe’s technological leadership.