A new €200 million (£178m) investment platform has been announced to finance the energy transition of bus fleets across France.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banque des Territories will each invest €100 million (£89m) in the platform, which will offer financing to local and urban mobility authorities looking to electrify their bus fleets.

It will finance up to 100% of the eligible project costs – purchase cost of buses and associated charging infrastructure – and offer a capped interest rate that fluctuates inversely with changes in electricity prices.

EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle said: “As the EU climate bank, the EIB is delighted with the creation of this innovative platform in partnership with Caisse des Dépôts. The transition to a low carbon economy will play out at the local level and in the day-to-day lives of the French people.

“Financing and supporting local authorities in their sustainable transport projects is done with a single objective in mind – to make the European Union the first greenhouse gas-neutral economy by 2050.”