Spanish export credit agency Cesce has signed a strategic agreement with French transport company Alstom to provide an annual maximum of €500mn for export activities focused on green projects.

The deal will allow the firm to “structure the financing of its foreign operations in a more flexible way in terms of purchasing decisions and supplier designation”, Alstom says. It will be reviewed on a yearly basis and depend on employment levels, investment and exports of Alstom Group companies in Spain.

Through the agreement, formalised on October 11, Cesce will assess the issuance of guarantees for the long-term financing of Alstom’s green projects in third countries, provided through the buyer credit insurance policy.

Transactions can be submitted for countries that are ranked up to five under the OECD country risk classification, as long as the projects qualify as “green” according to the EU’s taxonomy.

Spain was one of 12 EU member states that committed to ending public finance for fossil fuels by the end of 2022 at last year’s Cop26 summit. In March this year, the European Council said all other member states had given themselves until the end of 2023 to set deadlines for ending support for the fossil fuel sector.

The agreement with Alstom forms part of Cesce’s bid “to materialise alliances with strategic companies with a significant industrial presence in Spain” and support growth in green sectors.

Alstom explains that the deal aims to “strengthen and consolidate the Spanish railway industry”. More than 50% of the company’s activity in Spain is related to exports. It has an industrial plant in Barcelona for the manufacture of trains, a propulsion systems factory in Vizcaya, and technological centres in Madrid aimed at developing projects in railway safety, signalling, maintenance and digital mobility.