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Call for Proposals: Crowding in Private Finance for Sustainable Energy Program

Deadline: 23-Sep-2025

The European Commission (EC) is accepting proposals for the Crowding in Private Finance for Sustainable Energy Program.

Objectives
  • The topic aims to increase the amount of private finance allocated to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources by establishing innovative financing schemes.
  • Significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable need to be mobilised to achieve the ambition set by the European Green Deal and the objective to reduce EU dependence on fossil fuel imports set out in the REPowerEU Plan. In order to meet the required level of investments, it is necessary to progressively maximise the mobilisation of private capital, using public funds as a catalyst, and to put in place an enabling regulatory framework. This is a central objective of the recently established European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition
  • In addition, the revised Energy Efficiency Directive and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive aim to increase the cost-effectiveness of public funding and the mobilisation of private investments in energy efficiency measures, including by promoting innovative financing mechanisms.
Scope 
  • Proposals should set up an innovative financing scheme leveraging private finance for investments in energy efficiency, potentially combined with renewables and energy storage.
  • The financing scheme should be established in at least 1 eligible country under the LIFE programme, in order to ensure the development of a sound and robust investment pipeline.
  • The financing scheme should be operational by the end of the project, with credible access to financing sources and a prospective pipeline of investments. The related investments may be implemented after project completion, but proposals are expected to pilot test the financing scheme during the project time.
  • The financing schemes can involve, for example, but are not limited to:
    • Equity and debt, potentially combined with non-reimbursable grants (“blending”), in particular for low-income households or SMEs.
    • Local or regional investment funds blending public grants and private finance, e.g. in the form of loans.
    • Guarantees, risk-sharing, insurance or other de-risking instruments.
    • Energy services such as energy performance contracting, efficiency as a service, and variants thereof, if used to finance the investments.
    • On-bill, on-tax and building-based financing, where the debt is attached to the energy meter or the building rather than the household or company.
    • Schemes complementing, with a dedicated financing component, already existing local and regional technical assistance facilities, in particular integrated home renovation services.
    • Schemes targeting the secondary market, including refinancing mechanisms, specialised securitisation vehicles and green bond schemes.
    • Local investment structures, including citizen financing (e.g. crowdfunding) for energy efficiency.
    • Market-based instruments relevant for sustainable energy (e.g. carbon finance instruments, energy efficiency obligations, etc.).
    • Brokering, aggregation or clearing houses, which facilitate matching of demand and supply of sustainable energy finance.
Funding Information
  • The estimated available call budget is EUR 91 400 000.
    • LIFE-2025-CET-PRIVAFIN EUR 7 000 000
Expected Impacts
  • Proposals should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific impacts. This demonstration should include a detailed analysis of the starting point and a set of well-substantiated assumptions and establish clear causality links between the results and the expected impact.
  • Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute to deliver financing schemes that are operational and ready to finance investments, with credible access to financing sources and a prospective pipeline of investments.
  • The indicators for this topic include:
    • Number of investment projects and volume of investments processed during the project (i.e. pilot testing phase) and expected to be financed by the financing scheme in the next 5 years; the projection after the project needs to be justified in detail based on the proposed activities and a detailed market analysis.
    • Number of investors and project developers using the financing scheme.
    • Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).
    • Average % of primary energy savings targeted by investment projects.
Eligibility Criteria
  • In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
    • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
    • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
      • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
        • non-EU countries:
      • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the LIFE Programme
    • the coordinator must be established in an eligible country.
    • Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant or by applicants from a single eligible country.

For more information, visit EC.