EEN members are invited to apply for this call, which aims to identify SMEs that will benefit from direct financial support to third parties of up to EUR 10 000

Background

In line with the objectives of the European Commission’s winter energy package of July 2022, the RepowerEU Plan and the forthcoming Net-Zero Industry Act, this call for proposals aims at launching a new action to support SMEs in their efforts to improve their energy efficiency including for their buildings, processes and production lines.

The scope of the call is to select a consortium formed by EEN organisations (part of EEN consortia with whom EISMEA has an ongoing grant agreement) to identify SMEs among the EEN’s client base or new clients of the Network that will benefit from direct financial support to third parties of up to EUR 10 000. The purpose of this support will be to improve the energy efficiency of the SMEs including for their buildings, processes and production lines.

• Energy audits and technical consultations (such as energy consultants, energy simulation, etc.);
• Contribution to the adoption of energy-efficient technologies in production lines (both technologies available in the same region or outside the region);
• Contribution to investments to increase the energy efficiency of company facilities in view of reducing their energy demand and consumption;
• Energy performance certificate;
• Implementation of energy management systems and related software;
• Energy trainings for SME employees on energy efficiency best practices and digital tools for energy data analysis;
• Contribution to the installation of renewable energy systems, such as solar panels or wind turbines

This call for proposals is restricted to members of the EEN, with whom EISMEA has an existing ongoing grant agreement and who have a proven track record of providing services to SMEs relevant to the scope of this call.

Objectives

The main objective of the action is to strengthen the energy resilience of SMEs through direct financial support for the adoption of technological or non-technological solutions to improve energy efficiency as well as complementary investments in skills and managerial practices. Such an action will help European SMEs survive the pressures from increased energy prices and disrupted energy supply chains and will increase their long-term sustainability, by reducing their environmental impact and increasing their resilience to any future higher than expected energy price rises or other disruptions.

The secondary objective of the action is to give commercial opportunities to SMEs offering technological or non-technological solutions to energy-efficiency related issues by creating markets to test, commercialise, and deploy such innovative solutions, and connect with other SMEs needing their solutions.

In addition to achieving these objectives, the action will collect information and data to assess its effectiveness, helping to inform future design and implementation of instruments for energy resilience, building upon the existing work of the EEN and notably its new Sustainability Advisors and its dedicated Sector Groups, in particular on Renewable Energies and on Energy Intensive Industries.

Budget

The available call budget is EUR 10 000 000. We expect to fund one project under this call.

Deadline

Deadline to apply is: 31 May 2023 17:00 CET

Info session

An information session on this call targeted at eligible applicants will be organised online on 3 May 2023 from 10 until 11:30 CET. 

EEN member organisations only may register until 2 May 2023 at 12:00 CET:

REGISTER HERE