EEW funding

EEW funding is the federal funding for energy and resource efficiency in industry and commerce. It supports companies in running plant and processes more economically. The federal government has run the programme since 2019; the current directive has applied since 15 February 2024. It pays out either a grant or a loan with a repayment subsidy. The grant is awarded by BAFA (the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control).

Unlike funding programmes designed to cut energy consumption alone, EEW funding expressly also supports resource efficiency and process heat from renewable energy. You can address energy, materials and emissions in a single project. This combination sets the programme apart from purely energy-related funding.

What stands out is the size of the funding. For complex investments in efficient technology and in optimising your processes, you receive up to €20 million. This limit applies per project, not per individual measure.

Companies from all sectors with a location in Germany are eligible to apply. Small, medium-sized and large companies all qualify. Individual modules are limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The programme applies nationwide, that is, in all federal states.

Municipal enterprises and businesses under public ownership are not eligible to apply.

There is one condition you can check for yourself straight away: the application must be in place before the project begins. If you have already signed a supply or service contract for the plant or the conversion, that project is no longer eligible. Check first, therefore, what you have already commissioned, and submit the application before your next order.

Funding goes to investments that reduce energy and resource consumption in your production. This includes energy-efficient plant and processes, the resource-related optimisation of existing plant, and plant for process heat from renewable energy. Reducing fossil energy use and greenhouse gas emissions is also part of the funding purpose. The focus is on capital measures on industrial and commercial plant and processes.

The programme is divided into modules. Each module stands for a type of measure, and your project is assigned to one of these modules. Which module that is depends on the planned measure, not on your sector. If none of the modules fits your project, it is not eligible under EEW funding.

You receive the funding either as a grant or as a loan with a repayment subsidy. Which form applies to you depends on the module.

The highest rate in the programme is 60% of the eligible costs. For investment costs the rates are lower: 25% for small companies and 20% for medium-sized companies. The state aid basis also has an effect. Under the de minimis regulation, the European rule for small amounts of aid, 33% is possible; under the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), 20%.

Three things therefore determine your funding amount: the module, the size of your company and the state aid basis. The same ceiling sits above all these rates: a maximum of €20 million per project.