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New Grant Opportunities for Clean Energy Transition – Apply Now

[may 2025]

RFPs: One-Stop-Shops – Integrated Services for Clean Energy Transition in Buildings

Deadline: September 23, 2025

European Commission is inviting submissions to support the creation or replication of One-Stop-Shops (OSS), offering integrated services for clean energy transition in private residential buildings, in line with the Energy Efficiency Directive (art. 22) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (art. 18).

Objectives
  • As highlighted in the “Renovation Wave” initiative of the European Green Deal and in the REPowerEU Plan, there is a pressing need to increase the number of ambitious building renovations across the EU and to better integrate the switch to efficient renewable-based heating and cooling as an integral part of building renovations. However, many building owners lack the skills and capacity to set up, implement and finance complex and ambitious clean energy transition projects. In addition, many project developers face high implementation costs, given the relatively small size of the investments and the lack of turnkey solutions, and have limited access to adequate and attractive financing solutions on the market.
  • Proposals submitted under this topic (depending on the specific scope) are expected to set up integrated renovation services to tackle the following aspects:
    • Improve market conditions and develop integrated building renovation service offers to:
      • Reduce complexity, simplify decision making and stimulate demand for investment in energy performance improvements and decarbonisation.
      • Connect all relevant actors in the value chain (e.g. construction companies, architects, engineers, urban planners, financiers, etc.).
      • Streamline access to various support measures, especially where there is support for specific target groups (e.g. energy poor households).
      • Improve awareness and trust towards such integrated services, through an adequate mix of online and in-person support, clear accountability, quality assurance and/or dedicated consumer protection policies.
      • Develop a robust pipeline of investments in building renovations, able to increase interest and participation from financial institutions and exploit synergies on the market, for instance via the development of dedicated financial products for building renovations facilitated through One-Stop-Shops.
    • Provide methods and support to:
      • Implement and operationalise integrated services, and test them in a pilot phase, triggering the first investments that validate the proposed concept.
      • Build expertise and organisational innovations needed for project development.
      • Reduce costs and time for all actors of the value chain through standardised approaches (e.g. optimised business processes, standardised contractual arrangements or technical measures, branding of the proposed services, district approaches, etc.).
      • Ensure cost effectiveness and price transparency of services provided to final beneficiaries.
      • Operationalise a focus on low energy renovation, either all at once or in a planned staged approach, using tools such as Building Renovation Passports.
    • Aim at a sustainable business model of the integrated service taking into account that:
      • Integration of services can be developed through dedicated operators and/or through an improved co-ordination between existing local actors.
      • The approach should minimise reliance on public subsidies to cover operating costs, having the prospect of economically viable business models in the medium to long term.
    • Communicate results:
      • Disseminate innovative solutions (e.g. organisational and contractual), suited to the targeted contexts.
      • Help improve legal and regulatory environments by communicating project results to relevant public authorities and bodies.
      • Demonstrate a high degree of replicability and include a clear action plan to communicate experiences and results towards potential replicators across the EU.
Scope
  • Based on the generic approach and common objectives presented above, proposals submitted under this topic are expected to focus on one of the specific scopes below. The scope addressed should be specified in the introduction of the proposal. Although this does not exclude the possibility of addressing, in addition, some aspects of the other scope, proposals must be fully clear on what the core focus of the approach is, and who the main final beneficiaries will be.
    • Scope A: Integrated Home Renovation Services
    • Scope B: Integrated services for rental housing energy upgrade
    • Scope C: EU community of “Integrated Home Renovation Services” practitioners
Funding Information
  • Funding rate:
    • Other Action Grants (OAGs) — 95%
  • Topic Budget: EUR 10 000 000.
Expected Impacts
  • Scope A and Scope B:
    • Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute (depending on the specific scope) to:
      • Integrated services fully implemented, operational and tested before the end of the action: projects must necessarily set up the core infrastructure and launch the services before the project end; in addition, in a pilot phase, they must trigger the first investments that validate their concept, with the understanding that actual delivery at the worksites, comprehensive scaling of activities and subsequent investments will continue beyond the project’s completion.
      • Upgrade of the services offer compared to the existing situation in the area and in relation to the overall advancement of the OSS offer at national level.
  • Scope C:
    • Proposals submitted under Scope C should result in:
      • Expansion of a European community of practice gathering relevant stakeholders, deeply rooted in their ecosystem and actively involved in ongoing local implementation of “integrated home renovation services”.
      • Data and guidance made publicly available in order to facilitate the uptake of “integrated home renovation services” across Europe. Evidence that the value of such integrated services is recognised by the market.
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

For more information, visit EC.

Supporting the Clean Energy Transition of European Industry and Businesses

Deadline: September 23, 2025

European Commission is now accepting submissions for the Supporting the Clean Energy Transition of European Industry and Businesses topic.

Objectives
  • The overall objective of this topic is to support the clean energy transition and decarbonisation of industry by bridging the gap between the demand and supply side of net-zero energy technologies as well as by fostering collaborative approaches among companies operating in physical proximity
  • Engaging businesses in the clean energy transition and reducing their domestic footprint is central for the European Green Deal and to deliver on the Fit-for-55 package and the REPowerEU Plan to phase-out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels imports. It is also important for the Green Deal Industrial Plan20 and the overall competitiveness of EU enterprises.
  • Through the Net-Zero Industry Act, which is part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the European Commission is aiming at increasing the manufacturing capacity of strategic net-zero technologies to meet at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs by 2030.
  • In 2022, the industry sector made up 25,1% of the total EU-27 final energy consumption out of which energy-intensive companies account for almost 40% of the total industrial final energy consumption. For this reason, modernising and decarbonising the business sector remains a top priority to succeed in the clean energy transition as also highlighted in the Future of European competitiveness report.
  • Exposure to energy prices, increased global competition as well as potential transition risks linked to changing regulation, market demand and buyers/suppliers procurement criteria are increasing pressure on EU companies. New business models and financial schemes are needed to be able to adapt in the current energy crisis and take the decision to invest in an energy efficiency or renewable energy project. In this context, the European Commission has recently adopted the Clean Industrial Deal communication along with the Affordable Energy Action Plan with the aim to foster also the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries through the establishment of cooperation initiatives (e.g. at industrial cluster level).
Scope
  • Proposals should address only one of the two scopes below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal’s introduction.
    • Scope A: Collaboration between industrial sectors and technology providers for clean energy technology optimisation and deployment
      • Proposals under this scope should promote a sustainable and efficient use of energy in a specific industrial sector at European level by facilitating the collaboration between industrial sectors/sub-sectors sharing similar processes and energy related needs with sustainable energy technology manufacturers and providers. Sustainable energy solutions could include among others: renewable energy, heat electrification solutions through the use of heat pumps, and energy efficiency products and processes, including recent innovations ready for market deployment and more in general the renewable energy and energy efficiency related technologies covered by the Net-Zero Industry Act.
      • On the user side, specific industrial sectors could survey their production processes to define a number of standard processes and optimise their operational energy needs through a closer exchange with technology suppliers in order to effectively design sustainable energy solutions. On the provider side, manufacturers and providers could optimise and standardise their existing technological offers, products and solutions to meet the needs of the industrial sector. The goal is to move from custom-built project by project approach for each specific industrial plant and process, to more streamlined, standardised, and even turn-key solutions for industrial clients operating under the same processes. This aligned cooperation for creating demand and ensuring supply can provide decisive support for the decarbonisation of the industrial sector.
      • Proposals are expected to support the establishment of concrete collaboration initiatives, their initial operation and the governance structure. Activities should address the development and validation of business models for the deployment of the specific solutions explored in the sector(s) addressed and, if relevant, capacity building activities for the deployment and installation of the solutions.
      • Proposals should develop a clear strategy to roll out the technical solutions on the targeted industrial sector, including access to public and private finance.
      • Involvement of the relevant representative organisations at national/European level for the user sector(s) and for technology providers is expected as a central feature in order to ensure effective market acceptance and implementation. This involvement may be ensured through participation in the proposal, but also through an active engagement process throughout the project activities. Convincing letters of support are expected to demonstrate interest from the targeted industrial sectors.
      • Proposals should focus on technologies already available on the market and should justify the choice of the targeted sector(s), including a detailed analysis of the barriers and potential solutions. Activities aiming at technological demonstration are not in the scope of this topic. The demonstration of the proposed solutions is not in scope and potential costs for equipment will be eligible only to a very small extent and only if well justified.
    • Scope B: Energy Cooperation among industries in proximity to foster clean, affordable and sustainable energy use
      • Proposals under this scope should foster the market uptake of energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy (and heat pumps where relevant), through industrial energy cooperation approaches among companies that are in physical proximity (region, cluster, industrial park/site).
      • This scope aims to support the development of green regional/local industrial area/clusters, in each participating country targeted by the action addressing, among others, energy-intensive users. Energy cooperation can refer to the process of sharing energy related assets (e.g. renewable energy generation, energy storage), sharing energy services, implementing energy exchanges (e.g. recovery and use of waste heat from industrial and manufacturing processes) as well as incentivise industrial symbiosis and voluntary integration of industrial energy prosumers with system operators (e.g. electricity, heat, hydrogen) and/or energy communities. Clustering of companies can also facilitate better access to finance, ESCO contracts and power purchase agreements.
      • Proposals should facilitate the establishment of energy cooperation mechanisms within the timeframe of the project, including but not limited to identifying, investigating and validating economically viable business models (based on concrete interaction with participating companies), proving the relevance of a collaborative approach in terms of value creation for each involved actor (e.g. buyers/suppliers/final users). Proposals should also work on removing barriers that hinder energy cooperation, e.g. organisational (coordination, trust, responsibilities, data management, risk sharing), legal (identification of update needs or regulatory sandboxes where relevant) or social.
      • Proposals are expected to identify a pipeline of investments covering, among others, the local heat/power networks and other relevant energy infrastructure as previously mentioned, to give long term visibility on the clean energy investment opportunities. Proposals should engage with the key relevant stakeholders (businesses, public authorities, industry park managers, private operators, investors, DSOs, ESCOs etc.) to ensure endorsement of the investments and alignment with local plans and strategies. The engagement process should be clearly outlined and ideally resulting in a mapping of present and future industrial energy needs along with a number of preidentified sustainable energy related infrastructure and services. Applicants are expected to demonstrate a clear support of the key relevant actors for their proposed activities.
      • The proposed approaches should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and proposals should include a clear action plan to communicate experiences, critical success factors and results towards relevant energy cooperation actors and stakeholders across the EU.
      • Proposals for both scopes must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.
Funding Information
  • Available budget: EUR 9 000 000.
Expected Impact
  • 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.
  • Depending on the scope (A or B) and as relevant, proposals submitted under this topic should demonstrate how they will contribute to:
    • Implementation of EU legislation (in particular Energy Efficiency Directive and Renewable Energy Directive) addressing the business sector.
    • Viable business models either for the deployment of specific solutions or for industrial energy cooperation ready to be rolled out on the market.
    • Industrial actors integrating sustainable energy solutions in their processes.
    • Deployment of energy related infrastructure, energy services, and/or energy exchanges contributing to the clean energy transition of businesses.
    • Sustainable energy technological products adapted to meet industrial processes demands.
    • Accelerate and streamline the identification of projects to foster clean, affordable and sustainable energy use at regional/local level.
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

For more information, visit EC.

BUILD UP Skills – National Platforms on Energy Efficiency Skills for the Clean Energy Transition Program

Deadline: September 23, 2025

The European Commission (EC) is pleased to announce that applications for the BUILD UP Skills – National Platforms on Energy Efficiency Skills for the Clean Energy Transition Program are now open.

Objectives
  • The BUILD UP Skills initiative aims to increase the number of skilled professionals (blue- and white-collars) along the construction and renovation value chains. BUILD UP Skills has also engaged public authorities, building owners and tenants, to create awareness about the importance of a skilled workforce.
  • BUILD UP Skills supports the objectives of the EU Pact for Skills, and especially the Large-Scale Partnership for the Construction Ecosystem, which aims to have 30% workers participating in upskilling or reskilling actions annually by 2030, as well as the Renewable Energy skills Large-Scale partnership.
  • The projects supported since 2011 have set up a framework to increase the skills level of energy efficiency professionals needed across Europe to deliver energy renovations and nearly-Zero Energy Buildings at the scale implied by the EU targets for energy efficiency and energy performance of buildings. To develop the national skills roadmaps articulating these national upskilling actions, the BUILD UP Skills projects established national platforms gathering key stakeholders. In a first phase, all EU Member States developed such a platform and roadmap. More recently, 15 Member States had the opportunity to expand their platform and update their national roadmap with a 2030 perspective.
  • In addition, supported projects piloted innovative approaches to facilitate the roll-out of skills, including qualification and training schemes addressing emerging skills needs, innovative approaches to training, or measures to increase the demand for skills.
Scope 
  • Proposals submitted under this topic should focus on only one of the two scopes below:
    • Scope A: Supporting operations of existing national skills platforms
      • For eligible countries where the national platform is already running, proposals should:
        • continue to operate the national platform as a permanent structure gathering national experts from all relevant stakeholder organisations, including, but not limited to government authorities responsible for education and energy, professional chambers, education and training providers, trade unions, academia. The platform should focus on bringing to light the skills dimension of the clean energy transition to the relevant policy makers and decision-makers from the private sector, running regular working groups with relevant stakeholders focused on specific issues.
        • implement the measures listed in the action plan of the 2030 national roadmap recently designed. There should be a specific focus on securing funding for the large-scale roll-out out of the needed qualification and training schemes, including those piloted by previous projects, with a view to achieve a measurable impact on the annual training rate of professionals in the country.
        • design a large-scale national communication and awareness raising campaign
        • to promote the contribution of skilled professionals for the clean energy transition,
        • to make the case for the upskilling of energy efficiency professionals and
        • to attract more people to energy efficiency professions, specifically for those occupations and skills where a gap has been identified by Member States in the national reports submitted under Article 28(6) EED and in the national roadmap and action plan when appropriate.
    • Scope B: (Re)establishing national skills platforms
      • For other eligible countries not listed under Scope A, proposals should:
        • (re)establish the national platform and secure involvement of key stakeholders. A good starting point could be the work supported under the Intelligent Energy Europe programme during which a first group of national stakeholders was mobilised, but this should be expanded, also considering other energy efficiency professions listed under Article 28(1) EED. The platform should operate as a permanent structure gathering national experts from all relevant stakeholder organisations, including, but not limited to government authorities responsible for education and energy, professional chambers, education and training providers, trade unions and academia. The platform should focus on the skills dimension of the clean energy transition and run regular thematic working groups with relevant stakeholders, focused on specific issues.
        • carry out skills intelligence activities (including evaluation of the effectiveness of any previous national roadmap, market research, data collection, analysis of existing labour statistics and databases, targeted interviews with national stakeholders, participatory workshops, survey) to provide a comprehensive analysis of the national building, energy efficiency and education sectors, as well as a detailed mapping of the gaps in terms of workforce (occupations), skills and qualifications. The resulting ‘status quo analysis’ should cover initial education, vocational education as well as higher education.
        • design a national roadmap to address the identified gaps and barriers. The national roadmap should notably include: a set of priority measures related to the various professions to meet the defined targets; an action plan including implementation timing for the identified measures; an identification of actors, resources and financing needed to drive the implementation; synergies with support mechanisms increasing the demand for skills in the energy efficiency sector, such as one-stop shops for homeowners or public procurement rules; measures and indicators to monitor the progress of the proposed activities.
        • promote widely the results of the status quo analysis and the measures in the roadmap and make the necessary arrangements to pave the way for the roadmap’s implementation. Proposals should notably include activities ensuring the official endorsement of the roadmap by relevant national stakeholders, including public authorities.
          • design a large-scale national communication and awareness raising campaign
          • to promote the contribution of skilled professionals for the clean energy transition,
          • to make the case for the upskilling of energy efficiency professionals and
          • to attract more people to energy efficiency professions, specifically for those occupations and skills where a gap has been identified by Member States in the national reports submitted under the Article 28(6) EED and in the national roadmap and action plan developed, when appropriate.
Funding Information
  • The estimated available call budget is EUR 91 400 000.
  • LIFE-2025-CET-BUILDSKILLS EUR 6 000 000
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.

For more information, visit EC.

Projects on Legislative and Policy Priorities in the field of Clean Energy Transition

Deadline: September 23, 2025

The European Commission is inviting applications for its Projects on Legislative and Policy Priorities in the field of Clean Energy Transition to improve understanding of the actual impacts of EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulations and facilitate the implementation of related test methods that reflect better product use in real life, in terms of energy consumption and, when appropriate, pollutant emissions.

In addition, actual energy consumption data would inform on the one hand future reviews of ecodesign and energy labelling rules, while providing added value for preparatory studies. On the other hand, it would also contribute to improving the ecodesign impact accounting model utilised for reporting the impacts of these rules.

Scope
  • Proposals should set-up and implement in-situ measurement campaigns to capture the actual energy consumption, or energy efficiency where relevant, in EU households and to better understand the determinants of energy use for the selected products. Data collected should be statistically analysed and policy recommendations formulated on the related EU ecodesign and energy labelling rules, calculation methods and standards. Proposals should build on relevant studies, including on the recommendations from the JRC technical report.
  • The following aspects should be taken into account for the measurement campaigns:
    • Product selection: while multi-product monitoring would be preferable, an appropriate balance should be sought between the number of samples, geographical focus and the range of products selected.
    • Sample and geographic focus: a representative sample and a good geographical spread among EU Member States should be ensured; depending on the products selected, different climatic zones, socio-economic, cultural, and other aspects should be considered.
    • Duration: 36 months (indicatively), based on relevant criteria, including the intrusive character of testing from the household’s perspective, the effect of seasonality on products considered, cost/benefit, the possibility to rotate monitoring among households etc.
    • Appropriate determinants: influencing energy use of the selected products should be investigated (e.g. thermostat settings of a refrigerator, functions aiming to optimise consumption) and other relevant data should be collected, such as the model identifier, energy class and corresponding product information (e.g. information sheet, technical documentation), as applicable.
Funding Information
  • The Commission considers that proposals requesting an EU contribution of up to EUR 2 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Expected Outcomes
  • Proposals submitted under this topic should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities, and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific objectives and impacts. This 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 impacts.
  • Proposals should quantify their results and impacts using the indicators provided for the topic when they are relevant for the proposed activities. They should also propose indicators which are specific to the proposed activities. Proposals are not expected to address all the listed impacts and indicators.
  • The indicators for this topic include:
    • Total amount of energy represented by the monitored product categories and the corresponding CO2-eq amount.
    • Improved information on actual typical energy consumption available for a range of selected EU household products (e.g. including product type, geographical spread, conditions of use, where relevant).
    • Identifying options for improvements (e.g. requirements, measurement and calculation methods) in ecodesign and energy labelling legislation and related harmonised standards.
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.

For more information, visit European Commission.

European City Facility: Supporting Cities to develop investment plans for the Clean Energy Transition

Deadline: September 23, 2025

The European Commission is seeking applications to achieve the ambitious objectives of the EU climate and energy policy, significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy are needed to reach the energy transition goals established in the EU energy transition legislative framework.

The ‘European City Facility’ shall be run under the LIFE CET programme. This facility should build on the experiences of the current European City Facility (EUCF) and envisage an appropriate follow-up and scaling up of its fundamental approach.

Scope
  • Proposals should take into account the experience of the ongoing EUCF in addressing the above issues and envisage an appropriate follow-up and scaling up of its fundamental approach.
  • In this context, proposals are expected to run a ‘European City Facility’ which offers financial support and related services to European cities, municipalities or their groupings to develop investment concepts for energy efficiency and integrated energy transition investments combining energy efficiency and renewables.
  • These concepts should be developed within a limited period of time and cover, among the others, a clear identification of the potential project pipeline, a legal analysis, a governance analysis, a description of how the investments will be financed and a design of the process to launch the investments.
  • In particular:
    • proposals are expected to deliver financial support to third parties, in the form of lump sum grants to cities, municipalities or their groupings.
    • in accordance with the general call conditions on financial support to third parties, applicants should clearly specify why financial support to third parties is needed and how it will be managed and provide a list of the different types of activities for which a third party may receive financial support.
    • applicants should demonstrate the capacity to run a financial support scheme at large scale in accordance with LIFE CET standards and that they are able to select the most cost-efficient and appropriate applications considering, among other things, the scale of the potential investment and energy savings, as well as the number of inhabitants covered in the specific context targeted.
    • the European City Facility should offer services at the national level to support cities and municipalities in call applications, investment concept development, identification of financing streams and investment implementation processes.
    • the European City Facility should also implement appropriate capacity building schemes, in particular to help beneficiaries of the lump sum grants to use the financial support in the most effective manner and guide them in the post investment concept phase.
    • additionally, the European City Facility should offer opportunities for exchange of best practices among cities and municipalities, including at national level, with a view to remove existing barriers and enable the uptake and efficient operationalisation of the investment concepts.
    • furthermore, the European City Facility should establish an appropriate framework for comprehensive monitoring, analysis, capitalisation, communication and dissemination of results and success stories, notably the monitoring of the investment potential represented by the investment concepts, as well as the investment volumes secured and actually implemented after the end of the lump sum grant.
  • Applicants should be deeply rooted in municipal sustainable energy/climate planning and financial engineering of energy efficiency investments and integrated energy transition investments combining energy efficiency and renewables.
  • Applicants should also demonstrate a deep understanding of the strategic nature of this initiative, including the different challenges for upscaling finance and, in particular, for mobilising private financing sources.
  • In addition, applicants should also demonstrate that they are able to mobilise a critical mass of cities/municipalities or their groupings and have a sound and inclusive outreach strategy to cities and municipalities across Europe.
Funding Information
  • The estimated available call budget is EUR 91,400,000.
  • Grant amount: EUR 15,000,000.
Expected Outcomes
  • 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 impacts.
  • Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute to the follow-up and scaling up of the fundamental approach of the current European City Facility.
  • Proposals should quantify their results and impacts using the indicators provided for the topic, when they are relevant for the proposed activities.
  • The indicators for this topic include:
    • Number of investment concepts delivered, and in particular number of investment concepts delivered to implement local heating and cooling plans.
    • Number of investment concepts transformed into ambitious tangible investments as a result of the action.
    • Number of public authority staff with increased capacity for developing investment concepts for energy efficiency, and integrated energy transition investments combining energy efficiency and renewables.
  • Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme:
    • Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and small-scale renewables) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).
    • Primary energy savings triggered by the project (GWh/year).
    • Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (GWh/year).
    • Reduction of greenhouse gases emissions (in tCO2-eq/year).
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.

For more information, visit European Commission.

Call for Proposals: Boosting the Clean Energy Transition in Cities and Regions

Deadline: September 23, 2025

The European Commission is now accepting submissions for the Boosting the Clean Energy Transition in Cities and Regions topic.

Objectives
  • The topic aims to support cities and regional authorities with the necessary capacity and skills to deliver and implement decarbonisation plans and strategies for the clean energy transition, which are critical for the industries, businesses and citizens in their territories.
  • Municipalities and regions are essential to deliver the energy transition on the ground. Their role is central to the achievement of the EU Green Deal, as recognised in the EU ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package, and in particular in the Energy Efficiency and the Renewable Energy Directives (EED and RED). Moreover, many municipalities and regions have already set ambitious energy targets and strategies under important initiatives and frameworks, such as the EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.
  • In view of this, proposed actions should support cities and regional authorities in developing and reinforcing the specific capacities and skills needed to deliver on the clean energy transition and to achieve the specific targets.
  • Proposed actions should consider complementarity and alignment with relevant initiatives, including, but not limited to the National Energy and Climate Plans, the National Building Renovation Plans and the Horizon Europe Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. In addition, other technical assistance and capacity building initiatives should also be considered.
Scope
  • Proposals are expected to focus on one of the two scopes established below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal.
    • Scope A: Implementation of integrated decarbonisation plans
      • Starting from existing plans and strategies, and to enhance the leading role of the public sector on energy efficiency as described for instance in the Article 5(6) of the EED, there is a clear need to accelerate and mainstream implementation of sustainable energy measures, in coordination with key stakeholders and with particular attention to vulnerable groups. Proposals should empower cities and regional authorities to develop specific skills, approaches and know-how to decide and deliver energy measures on the ground and optimise public expenditure. The proposed activities should be place-based and cross-sector, if relevant, and may include, for instance: setting-up of relevant structures; establishing peer-to-peer approaches to share knowledge and best practices; delivering in-depth, comprehensive, and ambitious capacity building programmes that address public and private funding streams of energy measures, improving the regulatory framework, deploying clean energy transition technologies.
    • Scope B: Development of methodologies, templates, blueprints and strategies for the preparation of local heating and cooling plans
      • Decarbonising the heating and cooling sector is central to achieving the energy transition. Local and regional authorities have a key role to play alongside industries, businesses and citizens. For instance, Article 25(6) of the EED sets a specific objective to prepare local heating and cooling plans for municipalities with a population higher than 45000. In order to meet existing requirements and objectives and enable future action, cities and regional authorities need specific support. Proposals should include specific activities including, for instance, building skills, facilitating access to and integration of relevant data, developing comprehensive outlooks on energy demand and supply, fostering a gradual and timely phase-out of fossil gas, engaging market participants and distribution system operators (DSOs) responsible for network decommissioning plans accelerating administrative processes and bundling joint efforts of municipalities at regional or other appropriate governance and territorial levels.
      • Proposals should clearly identify the targeted cities and regional authorities and explain/demonstrate their involvement and political commitment, which may take multiple forms including through specific and tailored letters of support.
      • Proposals should develop actions and methods that can be rapidly deployed and used by cities and regional authorities and help policy makers to prioritise actions.
      • Proposals should also outline the scale of the financial resources needed to implement decarbonisation plans and strategies in cities and regional authorities, and by the end of the action foresee the necessary financial resources within their public budget and assess possible financing solutions to implement the clean energy transition measures.
      • Furthermore, proposals should foresee structured dialogues between different levels of governance and an active involvement of public and private stakeholders, including citizens, communities and local/regional industry, businesses and energy operators to ensure a social, just, and competitive transition.
      • Proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.
Funding Information
  • Topic Budget: EUR 7 000 000.
Expected Impact
  • 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 quantify their results and impacts using the two sets of indicators provided for the topic (below), when they are relevant for the proposed activities. They should also propose indicators which are specific to the proposed activities. Proposals are not expected to address all the listed impacts and indicators. The results and impacts should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the end of the project.
  • Depending on the scope, the indicators for this topic include, as relevant:
    • Number of clean energy transition measures implemented (or initiated) by the end of the action.
    • Financial resources dedicated or earmarked within the local/regional authority’s budget for the implementation of CET plans/strategies and specific CET measures.
    • Number of heating and cooling methodologies, templates, blueprints and fossil-free strategies established through the action.
    • Number of policy makers/public officers with improved capacity/skills.
    • Number of public and private stakeholders engaged.
    • Average number of training hours per participant in capacity building programmes.
    • Number of organisational structures created/reinforced.
    • Number of institutionalised dialogues/cooperations within and beyond public authorities, including peers, private stakeholders and/or civil society.
    • Number of Memorandum of Understandings or similar agreements demonstrating political commitment from Local and Regional Authorities.
  • Proposals should also quantify their impacts related to the following common indicators for the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme:
    • Primary energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
    • Final energy savings triggered by the project in GWh/year.
    • Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
    • Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (in t CO2-eq/year).
    • Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).
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

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