diff --git a/include/efi_helper.h b/include/efi_helper.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..d76e24e0f57d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/efi_helper.h
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+ */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020, Linaro Limited
+ */
+
+#if !defined _EFI_HELPER_H_
+#define _EFI_HELPER_H
+
+#include <efi.h>
+#include <efi_api.h>
+
+/*
+ * @dev:	device string i.e 'mmc'
+ * @part:	partition string i.e '0:2'
+ * @filename:	name of the file
+ */
+struct load_file_info {
+	char dev[32];
+	char part[16];
+	char filename[256];
+};
+
+loff_t get_file_size(const struct load_file_info *file_loc,
+		     efi_status_t *status);
+efi_status_t efi_get_fp_from_var(const u16 *name, u16 start,
+				 struct load_file_info *loc);
+void *get_var(u16 *name, const efi_guid_t *vendor, efi_uintn_t *size);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/efi_loader/efi_helper.c b/lib/efi_loader/efi_helper.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4cf1f8abed30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/efi_loader/efi_helper.c
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2020, Linaro Limited
+ */
+
+#include <common.h>
+#include <env.h>
+#include <malloc.h>
+#include <dm.h>
+#include <fs.h>
+#include <efi_helper.h>
+#include <efi_loader.h>
+#include <efi_variable.h>
+
+/**
+ * get_file_size() - retrieve the size of initramfs, set efi status on error
+ *
+ * @dev:			device to read from, e.g. "mmc"
+ * @part:			device partition, e.g. "0:1"
+ * @file:			name of file
+ * @status:			EFI exit code in case of failure
+ *
+ * Return:			size of file
+ */
+loff_t get_file_size(const struct load_file_info *info, efi_status_t *status)
+{
+	loff_t sz = 0;
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = fs_set_blk_dev(info->dev, info->part, FS_TYPE_ANY);
+	if (ret) {
+		*status = EFI_NO_MEDIA;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = fs_size(info->filename, &sz);
+	if (ret) {
+		sz = 0;
+		*status = EFI_NOT_FOUND;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+out:
+	return sz;
+}
+
+/*
+ * string_to_load_args() - Fill in a struct load_file_info with the file info
+ *			   parsed from an EFI variable
+ *
+ * @args:	value of the EFI variable i.e "mmc 0 initrd"
+ * @info:	struct to fill in with file specific info
+ *
+ * Return:	Status code
+ */
+static efi_status_t string_to_load_args(char *args, struct load_file_info *info)
+{
+	efi_status_t status = EFI_SUCCESS;
+	char *p;
+
+	/*
+	 * expect a string with three space separated parts:
+	 * - block device type, e.g. "mmc"
+	 * - device and partition identifier, e.g. "0:1"
+	 * - file path on the block device, e.g. "/boot/initrd.cpio.gz"
+	 */
+	p = strsep(&args, " ");
+	if (!p) {
+		status = EFI_NO_MEDIA;
+		goto out;
+	}
+	strncpy(info->dev, p, sizeof(info->dev));
+
+	p = strsep(&args, " ");
+	if (!p) {
+		status = EFI_NO_MEDIA;
+		goto out;
+	}
+	strncpy(info->part, p, sizeof(info->part));
+
+	p = strsep(&args, " ");
+	if (!p) {
+		status = EFI_NOT_FOUND;
+		goto out;
+	}
+	strncpy(info->filename, p, sizeof(info->filename));
+
+out:
+	return status;
+}
+
+/**
+ * get_var() - read value of an EFI variable
+ *
+ * @name:	variable name
+ * @start:	vendor GUID
+ * @size:	size of allocated buffer
+ *
+ * Return:	buffer with variable data or NULL
+ */
+void *get_var(u16 *name, const efi_guid_t *vendor, efi_uintn_t *size)
+{
+	efi_status_t ret;
+	void *buf = NULL;
+
+	*size = 0;
+	ret = efi_get_variable_int(name, vendor, NULL, size, buf, NULL);
+	if (ret == EFI_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL) {
+		buf = malloc(*size);
+		ret = efi_get_variable_int(name, vendor, NULL, size, buf, NULL);
+	}
+
+	if (ret != EFI_SUCCESS) {
+		free(buf);
+		*size = 0;
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	return buf;
+}
+
+/**
+ * efi_get_fp_from_var() - Retrieve a file path from an EFI variable
+ *
+ * @name:	variable name
+ * @start:	start replacing from
+ * @info:	struct to fill in with file specific info
+ */
+efi_status_t efi_get_fp_from_var(const u16 *name, u16 start,
+				 struct load_file_info *info)
+{
+	u16 hexmap[] = L"0123456789ABCDEF";
+	efi_uintn_t boot_order_size;
+	void *var_value = NULL;
+	u16 *name_dup = NULL;
+	efi_uintn_t size;
+	efi_status_t ret;
+	u16 boot_order;
+
+	memset(info, 0, sizeof(*info));
+
+	/* make sure we have enough space for replacements */
+	if (u16_strsize(name) < sizeof(*name) * start + u16_strsize(L"####")) {
+		ret = EFI_INVALID_PARAMETER;
+		goto out;
+	}
+	boot_order_size = sizeof(boot_order);
+	ret = efi_get_variable_int(L"BootCurrent",
+				   &efi_global_variable_guid, NULL,
+				   &boot_order_size, &boot_order, NULL);
+	if (ret != EFI_SUCCESS)
+		goto out;
+
+	name_dup = u16_strdup(name);
+	if (!name_dup) {
+		ret = EFI_OUT_OF_RESOURCES;
+		goto out;
+	}
+	/* Match name variable to BootCurrent */
+	name_dup[start] = hexmap[(boot_order & 0xf000) >> 12];
+	name_dup[start + 1] = hexmap[(boot_order & 0x0f00) >> 8];
+	name_dup[start + 2] = hexmap[(boot_order & 0x00f0) >> 4];
+	name_dup[start + 3] = hexmap[(boot_order & 0x000f) >> 0];
+
+	var_value = get_var(name_dup, &efi_global_variable_guid, &size);
+	if (!var_value) {
+		ret = EFI_NOT_FOUND;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	ret = string_to_load_args(var_value, info);
+	if (ret != EFI_SUCCESS)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (fs_set_blk_dev(info->dev, info->part, FS_TYPE_ANY)) {
+		ret = EFI_NO_MEDIA;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (!fs_exists(info->filename)) {
+		ret = EFI_NOT_FOUND;
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+out:
+	free(var_value);
+	free(name_dup);
+	return ret;
+}
