The European Investment Bank (EIB) Friday officially confirmed that it was to support the research and development of Rolls-Royce aero engines through a 280 million British pounds (about 425.6 million U.S. dollars) long-term loan.

The EIB-backed loan is meant to support the development of the higher thrust version of the Trent XWB aero-engine.

The 7 year EIB loan is one of the largest ever agreed between the EIB and a UK company.

Meanwhile, this loan is the largest ever given by Europe's long-term lending institution to Rolls-Royce for investment in research and development.

The EIB said it has provided more than 723 million pounds for investment by Rolls-Royce in Britain in the last decade, as well as supporting research and development by the company elsewhere in Europe.

"Investment to help develop new engines builds on the unique strengths of Rolls-Royce and will help to ensure that cutting edge skills and engineering techniques build better and more efficient engines for the global airline market," said Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President.

Rolls-Royce employs over 54,000 people and is one of the world's leading producers of aero engines for large civil aircraft, corporate jets and the defence market. Last year the company invested 1.2 billion pounds in research and development activities.

According to the EIB, it has supported industrial investment across Britain through more than 7 billion pounds of loans for research and development by companies including Airbus, Ford, Nissan, Johnson Matthey, Smiths, BMW, GKN and Oxford Instruments since 1973. (1 pound = 1.52 U.S. dollars)