EUR 20 Million financing provided to Vilniaus silumos tinklai

The funding will be used to address the increased seasonal working capital needs during the heating season and to manage the risks associated with fluctuations in energy resource prices.

“Our goal is to generate heat in Vilnius solely from environmentally friendly sources. We are pleased that a reliable partnership with our financial partner helps us achieve this goal—together, we are finding solutions to offer Vilnius residents more sustainable heating. We anticipate that this heating season in Vilnius will be one of the greenest ever—the biofuel unit at the Vilnius cogeneration plant is now fully operational, we have invested in the most powerful absorption heat pump in the Baltic States, and we have further increased the efficiency of heat supply,” said Mindaugas Bruckus, Head of VST’s Finance Team.

According to VST, approximately 83% of the fuel used for heat production in Vilnius this year will consist of renewable energy sources, including biofuel and waste. This season, energy innovations are already in place—the most powerful absorption heat pump in the Baltics is the company's investment towards eliminating the use of fossil fuels for heat production. The unit will save EUR 1.36 million annually and improve VST's heat generation from biofuel, reducing CO2 emissions by 4,000 tonnes per year. These energy innovations are part of the company's goal to fully eliminate the use of fossil fuels in heat production by 2030.

“Financing strategic projects and promoting sustainable energy is one of our key priorities under the bank's Sustainability Programme, and we are committed to increasing our efforts in this area. Together with our group, we achieved zero emissions from our operations ahead of schedule, and we are actively encouraging our clients to adopt sustainable solutions across all sectors.

We are delighted to continue contributing to the capital’s ambition of becoming a climate-neutral city, and the fact that this heating season will be the most sustainable yet is a significant step towards our independence from fossil fuels,” said Giedrius Dzenkauskas, Head of Sales for the Lithuanian branch.

This is our second year collaborating with VST. Last year, we provided EUR 35 million in financing to Lithuania’s largest provider of heating and hot water.

 We have been operating in Lithuania for 11 years and are the fifth-largest bank in the country by business loan portfolio, which amounts to EUR 1.3 billion. We strategically work with large and leading mid-sized companies.

 We are part of the leading Finnish financial services group, OP Financial Group, who’s green and sustainability-linked loan and equipment financing portfolio in the Baltic States and Finland totalled EUR 7.9 billion at the end of the first half of this year.