The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided €19m in venture debt to Reactive Technologies, a UK and Finnish power-grid technology company. The financing takes the form of venture debt, a type of long-term financing designed for innovative, high-growth companies that provides capital without ownership dilution. Of the €19m loan, up to €7m will support research and development at Reactive Technologies' centre in Oulu, in central Finland, while €12m will fund the rollout of its technology across the European Union.

The operation is backed by the Invest EU programme and contributes to the EIB Group's Tech EU initiative. Reactive Technologies' platform, Grid Verix, provides real-time measurements of key indicators of grid stability, including inertia, voltage strength, and stability across the network. As more wind and solar connects to Europe's grids, the platform helps operators spot vulnerabilities, keep the system stable, and reduce costly renewable curtailment. "Europe needs electricity grids that can keep pace with the rapid growth of renewable energy," said EIB vice-president Karl Nehammer.

He said the technology gave grid operators "a much clearer picture of what is happening across their networks in real time." Headquartered in London with an R&D centre in Finland and commercial offices in the US, UAE, and Australia, Reactive Technologies sells its platform to grid operators, utilities, and asset owners through a data-as-a-service model.