European Maritime Space and Inland ports (AFIF) - works

Under CEF Transport, European Maritime Space and Inland ports topic, onshore-power supply (OPS) refers to the so called “cold ironing” i.e., an alternative power option for ships at berth, in a maritime or inland port, which allows the on-board generators to be stopped. In addition, an onshore facility i.e., Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) for charging to electrical vessel(s) from the port-side could also be supported as other option for electrification in the ship-shore interface. This excludes any investments in battery swapping facilities.

The related installations on the vessels are not eligible for funding unless they form an integral part of the relevant vessel’s investments for fitting or retrofitting of the vessels’ energy systems as stipulated in the call and further explained in the related FAQs.

Shore-side Power Banks (SPBs) i.e., shore side Electrical Energy Storage (ESS) units in the form of batteries, in maritime or inland port, may be supported where they are necessary to provide energy for the OPS and/or SBC systems included in the proposal and only as a synergetic element, under the conditions set out in FAQ 20946.

The battery units shall be permanently deployed within the perimeter of the port and dedicated primarily to the OPS and/or SBC systems included in the application. The battery units may be relocated between different OPS and/or SBC installations within the same port if justified. Applicants shall demonstrate the need for a mobile battery unit, the planned locations of use, the types of vessels served by the OPS and/or SBC systems at those locations, the frequency of relocation, and that the battery unit will not be used for non-OPS/SBC applications.

Only the battery energy storage unit itself may be supported for funding. The chassis, trailer, vehicle, or any other platform used to transport or move the battery unit within the port’s perimeter, shall not be supported.

No, under the call CEF-T-2026-COREGEN shore-side electricity supply is not eligible along the inland waterway on the TEN-T network. Shore-side electricity supply in inland ports can be supported under the call CEF-T-2026-SUSTMOBGEN-EMS-WORKS.

Yes, projects supporting the deployment of onshore-power supply and charging infrastructure can be supported for funding if they are located in a core or comprehensive maritime or inland port listed in Annex II to the TEN-T Regulation (EU) 2024/1679.

For merged port entities or entities managing more than one maritime or inland port, only the geographic area of the port indicated in Annex II to the TEN-T Regulation may be included in the project. If a port authority manages more than one port and each of those ports is listed in Annex II, then each port is an eligible location for projects under this topic and may be subject of a separate application.

As indicated in the “Information Note to the CEF Transport Coordination Committee” of 13/12/2018, “activities kept under existing Grant Agreements will not be funded under reflow calls and CEF 2 calls”.

This rule applies even if the original Grant Agreement which included the activities is now closed, unless the technical scope of these activities, and the corresponding grant amount, was removed from the Grant Agreement before its end date to allow the reuse of the unused CEF funding.

The financing contribution provided by a financial institution can take the form of equity.

The Financial Approval Letter indicates that such equity contributions have been duly approved by the financial institution’s governing body in line with its own rules, policies and procedures.

Equity provided solely by an affiliated or other entity that is not a public or private financing institution does not comply with the eligibility conditions, as this does not ensure that an independent due diligence has taken place similar to the one applied by regulated financial institutions.

When the financing takes the form of equity, the size of the financial institution’s financing covering the project shall be of at least 10% of the proposed Project cost.

A loan can be allocated by a financial institution as lender to a holding company as borrower, for a project to be implemented by a subsidiary or affiliated company, provided that i) the financial contribution finances the project or part of the project for which the applicant intends to request grant support under the CEF-T-2026-AFIFGEN and CEF-T-2026-SUSTMOBGEN calls and that ii) the borrower (holding company) of the financing is also beneficiary of the grant.

Yes, the financial agreement or the financial framework loan can already be signed by the parties provided that it was done for the specific purpose of the submitted project.

Yes. The application will be considered as an aggregation of several single projects contributing to a global objective. In such case, each financial institution involved must provide a Financial Approval Letter indicating precisely the part of the project to which a financing is granted. Each financing will represent at least 10% of the concerned part of project. The rate of 10% cannot be reached jointly by cumulating the financing of the two or more financial institutions.

It is recommended to structure such applications in different work packages per applicant and related financial institution.

No. The project shall be located in one or several core or comprehensive maritime port(s).

No. Costs for any type of studies, pre-designs, (technical) designs, etc. are not supported for funding.

The funding rate for projects supporting the deployment of onshore-power supply and charging infrastructure in TEN-T ports located in the outermost regions is 70%.

The funding rate related to fitting or retrofitting vessels calling TEN-T port(s) in the outermost regions is 30%.

No. Under the European Maritime Space and Inland ports (AFIF) topic, neither full nor simplified cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is mandatory. Nevertheless, the applicants must substantiate the impact of the project with other forecast of end-user take-up, in which case the evaluation will look at the soundness, comprehensiveness, and transparency of the analysis as well as proposed means to monitor its impact.

The Financial Approval Letter (consisting of a transmittal letter certifying the approval of the financing and the project summary sheet) is a mandatory document for the CEF-T-2026-AFIFGEN and CEF-T-2026-SUSTMOBGEN calls.

The letter must be submitted together with the application or, at the latest, within 30 days after having been informed of the project selection outcome.

Please note that any modification to the template may result in the inadmissibility of the application.

Applicants must submit (upload) the Environmental Compliance File for all applications. For works applications and study applications with physical intervention, the ECF must be completed with (i) the environmental compliance questionnaire duly filled in, along with the requested information being applicable i.e. non-technical summary, and (ii) the declarations signed by the competent authority (i) for monitoring Natura 2000 sites and (ii) under the water framework directive 2000/60/EC.

Regarding study projects without physical intervention, and works projects that do not affect significantly the environment, the ECF must be uploaded by ticking the box of ‘project type’, and including in the comments boxes for each question ‘not applicable’. For these applications, no declarations signed by the competent authority are needed.

The works projects that do not affect significantly the environment concern applications for Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR), Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), VTMIS, RIS, telematics application systems, actions exclusively related to implementation of electric vehicles charging stations in existing build-up areas, solutions to improve accessibility for persons with reduced mobility, and vessels and rail rolling stock retrofitting.

As defined in the Part B application form, a work package constitutes a major sub-division of the project.

In the context of applications submitted to the EMS topic, the onshore power supply deployments localised in a port should be presented in a single work package. Every vessel should be presented as a separate work package.

In addition, please note:

• The maximum EU contribution will be capped at EUR 5 million per vessel, and at a total of EUR 10 million per grant agreement. As indicated in the call text, proposals requesting an EU contribution exceeding the maximum amount specified in the call will be considered ineligible.
• Synergetic elements, if any, should be presented in a separate work package. Please see further explanations in FAQ 20946.

Non-eligible cost, as defined in the Call text, may not be included:

• In the “Part A Financial Table”
• In the “Detailed Budget per Work Package”
• Or in Part B – section 6.2 Work packages, activities, resources and timing.

They may, however, be referred to in the application Part B under QUALITY – 3.1 Cost‑effectiveness and financial management for the explanatory purposes of the project’s cost structure.

The call aims to support:

• Maritime ferries engaged in a regular service on fixed route(s) between two or more maritime ports, of which at least one must be a TEN-T core or comprehensive maritime port.
• Short sea shipping vessels operating in coastal areas and calling at least one TEN-T core or comprehensive maritime port

The intended operating route(s) must be specified in the proposal at the time the application is submitted. In addition, applicants shall specify in their application the fuelling and recharging infrastructure currently available or expected to be available by the end of the project, at the ports served by the supported vessels.

In case the exact operating routes are not fully decided by the date of application, the application should present the considered options is sufficient details and explain for every option how the call conditions will be fulfilled.

In terms of technical maturity, for proposals addressing the fitting or retrofitting of vessels, the fitting or retrofitting contract must be signed after the call publication date and no later than 31 December 2027. Applicants shall explain and justify the degree of technical maturity of the project (e.g. design stage) under the relevant section of the proposal addressing ”Maturity” criterion.

The call text does not impose geographical restrictions as regards the building/fitting/retrofitting of vessels. As indicated in section 2 of the call text, applicants should explain how their proposed project will contribute to the development of EU manufacturing capacity in line with the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy.

Under the 2026 call for proposals, the proposals submitted to the following calls are exempted from submitting a CBA:

• CEF-T-2026-SIMOBGEN
• CEF-T-2026-MILMOB
• CEF-T-2026-AFIFGEN
• CEF-T-2026-SAFEMOBGEN
• CEF-T-2026-SUSTMOBGEN

For these calls, the submission system does not contain an upload slot for the upload of CBA documentation.

Yes. A proposal that includes investments in onshore-power supply and/or Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems in multiple maritime or inland ports, may be submitted under the European Maritime Space and Inland ports (AFIF) topic.

If the investments are located at a privately operated terminal of the involved port(s), they are also eligible for funding as long as the facilities and the infrastructure are accessible for use by all operators on a non-discriminatory basis. For further explanation of the accessibility of the investments on a non-discriminatory basis, please consult FAQ 17456.

‘Short-sea shipping’ as defined in Article 3 of the TEN-T Regulation No 2024/1679, means the movement of cargo and passengers by sea between ports situated in geographical waters of one or several Member States or between a port situated in waters of Member States and a port situated in waters of an adjacent third country having a coastline on the seas bordering waters of one or several Member States. Thus, a short sea shipping (SSS) link is over relatively short distances, as opposed to the intercontinental cross-ocean deep sea shipping.

The 2026 call for proposals specifies that the maritime ferries and short sea shipping vessels must be calling at least at one TEN-T core or comprehensive port listed as such in Annex II of the TEN-T Regulation. This means that the vessels seeking support may call at other maritime port(s) as long as those ports are situated in geographical waters of one or several Member States or in an adjacent third country having a coastline on the seas bordering waters of one or several Member States.

A proposal may include vessel(s) of one maritime operator or from several maritime operators, serving two or more SSS links as long as the aforementioned eligibility criteria are met for each of them and that the grant amount is be limited to a maximum of EUR 5 million per vessel.

In addition, for each vessel and link, it must be clearly demonstrated in the application:

- how the proposed interventions contribute to the greening of the SSS link(s) served by the vessel(s);

- the frequency of the port calls;

- what fuelling and recharging capacities are currently or will be available by the end of the project at the ports served by the supported vessels;

- the contribution of their proposed project to the development of EU manufacturing capacity and made in EU technologies in line with the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy.

No, under CEF Transport, European Maritime Space and Inland Ports topics, Port Energy Management System (PEMS) cannot be supported for funding.

As set out in Section 6 of the call texts, twinned proposals are proposals relating to the same project that are submitted under different calls and/or topics. Where proposals form part of the same Global Project, this must be clearly indicated in Part B. However, proposals submitted under the same topic are not considered twinned proposals, even if they form part of the same Global Project. They will be evaluated as separate proposals.

The cabling and the charging point to connect Shore-side Power Banks (SPB) i.e. Energy Storage Systems in the form of batteries, to the electricity grid, could be supported for funding, to the extent that they are:

• Directly linked to and used only for the SPB i.e. the battery unit included in the proposal and which will supply electricity to the supported onshore power supply system and/or the Shore-side battery charging (SBC) system being the main element(s) of the project.
• An essential element of the SPB system i.e. indispensable for connecting the battery unit to the grid and enabling the SPB to perform its intended function.

Please note such investments in cabling and charging point will be subject to the same conditions as the SPBs themselves, as explained in FAQ 21368, 20946 and 17549.

Furthermore, costs related to any electrical equipment and / or infrastructure of the electrical grid upgrade within the port or the connection from the port to the grid outside of the port, owned by the Distribution System Operator (DSO) or the Transmission System Operator (TSO) are not eligible (FAQ 17549).

As hybrid technologies for both, fitting and retrofitting of vessels, in the context of this call could qualify the following:

• Diesel + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Methanol + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Hydrogen + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Ammonia + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Biomethane + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.

The hybrid electric vessels (i.e the hybrid vessels combining battery-electric propulsion) must have, as a result of fitting or retrofitting, Shore-side Battery charging (SBC) and their battery capacity shall be sufficient to cover at least 10 Nautical miles for short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) and 18.52 km for inland waterway vessels.

Limitations: only the costs related to the electric, hydrogen, methanol, biomethane, ammonia and wind assisted propulsion systems are eligible for funding. Any component of the hybrid system related exclusively to diesel propulsion is not eligible for funding.

No. Under CEF transport, CEF-T-2026-SUSTMOBGEN-EMS and Inland Ports Call, a floating pontoon cannot be supported for funding”. Funding shall be limited to the onshore power supply deployment.

Mobile cable management systems may be supported for funding if they are dedicated to and necessary for the operation of the onshore-power supply (OPS) and are used exclusively for the berth(s) covered by the OPS investment.

Works involving the extension or structural modification of the quay infrastructure shall not be supported, even where such works are required for the installation of the OPS.

Civil engineering and electrical works directly required for the installation of OPS equipment may be eligible. This may include, for example, excavating trenches for electrical cables, construction of concrete foundations for electrical cabinets, transformers and substations, switchgears, drilling through the quay surface, etc.

Under the CEF Transport call, European Maritime Space, Bio-LNG technology used to retrofit existing vessels to run on Bio-LNG, falls under "biomethane technologies" as defined in the call text. Therefore, it can be supported for funding.

For retrofitting of existing vessels, the following technologies are eligible for funding:

• Fully battery – electric propulsion system (possibly in combination with wind-assisted propulsion system), with no combustion engines
• Fully hydrogen / methanol / ammonia / biomethane fuelled power propulsion system (possibly in combination with wind-assisted propulsion system)
• Diesel + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Methanol + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Hydrogen + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Ammonia + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Biomethane + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Diesel + methanol dual-fuel propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Diesel + biomethane dual-fuel propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Diesel + ammonia dual-fuel propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system
• Diesel and wind-assisted propulsion system

Specifically, the hybrid electric vessels (i.e the hybrid vessels combining battery-electric propulsion) must have, as a result of retrofitting, Shore-side Battery charging (SBC) and their battery capacity shall be sufficient to cover at least 10 Nautical miles for short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) and 18.52 km for inland waterway vessels.

Limitations: only the costs related to the electric, hydrogen, methanol, biomethane, ammonia and wind assisted propulsion systems are eligible for funding. Components of the hybrid system related exclusively to diesel propulsion are not eligible for funding.

The Financial Approval Letter may be signed by a public or private financial institution, meaning a commercial bank, a national promotional bank or any other financial institution, including investment funds and institutional investors, duly authorised to carry out lending, investing or leasing activities according to the applicable legislation, and established and operating in one or several of the EU Member States.

Vessels which are within the scope of Directive (EU) 2016/1629 can be supported. This includes both passenger vessels longer than 20 meters with more than 12 passengers' capacity as well as cargo vessels longer than 20 meters. The inland vessel should be operating in the TEN-T inland waterways transport network as set out in TEN-T Regulation N° 2024/1679.

The requirement that the battery capacity be sufficient to cover at least 10 nautical miles for short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) or 18.52 km for inland waterway vessels is intended to demonstrate the vessel's capability to operate in fully electric mode over that minimum distance following the fitting or retrofitting.

The call does not prescribe specific operating assumptions (e.g. vessel loading condition) for demonstrating compliance with this requirement. Nevertheless, applicants should clearly substantiate in the application how this requirement will be met under commercial operating conditions once the vessel has been fitted or retrofitted

For fitting of newbuild vessels, the following technologies are eligible for funding:

• Fully battery – electric propulsion system (possibly in combination with wind-assisted propulsion system), with no combustion engines.
• Fully hydrogen / methanol / ammonia fuelled power propulsion system (possibly in combination with wind-assisted propulsion system).
• Diesel + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Methanol + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Hydrogen + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Ammonia + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Biomethane + battery-electric propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Diesel + methanol dual-fuel propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Diesel + ammonia dual-fuel propulsion and/or wind-assisted propulsion system.
• Diesel and wind-assisted propulsion system.

The hybrid electric vessels (i.e the hybrid vessels combining battery-electric propulsion) must have, as a result of fitting, Shore-side Battery charging (SBC) and their battery capacity shall be sufficient to cover at least 10 Nautical miles for short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) and 18.52 km for inland waterway vessels.

Limitations: only the costs related to the electric, hydrogen, methanol, biomethane, ammonia and wind assisted propulsion systems are eligible for funding. Components of the hybrid system related exclusively to diesel propulsion are not eligible for funding

Yes, an application may combine onshore-power supply systems in a core or comprehensive maritime or inland port with fitting/retrofitting of vessels.

Nevertheless, the maximum EU contribution per grant agreement will be capped at EUR 10 million per project and at EUR 5 million per vessel.

No, the fitting or retrofitting of pilot boats are not supported.

Yes, substitute sources of energy (renewable energy generated on board or electricity supplied from OPS) and energy storage systems can be supported for funding. However, this is subject to the condition that the application clearly demonstrates that the substitute sources of energy (including onboard equipment/systems for connecting to onshore-power supply) and/or energy storage systems are predominately intended for the vessel’s power propulsion system.

These systems are not supported for funding if they serve exclusively or predominately non-propulsion elements.

If the substitute sources of energy and/or energy storage systems are installed on a hybrid electric vessel, the vessel must, as a result of the fitting / retrofitting, be equipped with Shore-side Battery charging (SBC). In addition, its battery capacity shall be sufficient to cover at least 10 Nautical miles for short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) or 18,52 km for inland waterway vessels.

Energy efficiency measures and systems are not eligible for funding on their own. They are eligible only to the extent that they are necessary for the fitting or retrofitting of the vessels' power propulsion systems with technologies that are eligible under the scope of the topic. Applicants shall clearly demonstrate this necessity in the application

No, upgrade of existing electric recharging infrastructure, including expanding the capacity of an existing onshore-power supply installation, are not supported.

No, neither the retrofit nor fitting of LNG bunkering vessels are supported.

Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems can be supported. These are not considered as synergetic element.

Where an SBC system is installed at a maritime or inland port, it shall be intended for seagoing freight or passenger vessels (including tugboats and cruise vessels) and inland waterway vessels. Such projects may also include an upgrade of the electrical grid within the maritime or inland port (not considered a synergetic element) or a grid connection from the maritime or inland port to the grid outside of the port (considered a synergetic element), where this is necessary for the operation of the SBC system. For a detailed explanation of the eligibility conditions relating to electrical grid upgrades and grid connections, please refer to FAQ 17549.

Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems installed on board short sea shipping vessels (including ferries) and inland waterway vessels may be eligible for funding, provided they form part of the fitting or retrofitting of hybrid electric vessels.

No. The financial support provided by a financial institution has to represent at least 10% of the proposed Project cost. Intragroup financing does not satisfy this eligibility condition.

No, an uncommitted credit line/facility does not imply an actual financing on a given project from a financial institution. It only represents a total amount of funding that can be drawn from a credit line without specific purpose. Projects only covered by such credit facility lines are therefore not considered in line with the requirements of this call.

Yes, in case of several financial institutions involved, only one needs to deliver a Financial Approval Letter provided that it covers a financing of 10% of the proposed Project cost and that this financial institution has performed the due diligence of the entire project. The Financial Approval Letter explicitly refers to this comprehensive risk-based appraisal process of the financial institution, in line with its rules, policies and procedures. A Financial Approval Letter is then not required from the other financing institutions financing the project but may be provided in support of the project.

The reference to the accessibility of the investments on a non-discriminatory basis means that the facilities and infrastructure shall not be intended for use by a dedicated operator only but must be accessible by all operators who are interested to use them.

The particular infrastructure needs in a port may result in the situation that some facilities and infrastructure will mostly be used by specific operator(s). Nevertheless, such facilities and infrastructure are eligible provided that the application demonstrates and the applicants guarantee that the funded infrastructure is publicly accessible for use by all operators on a non-discriminatory basis.

Under CEF Transport, European Maritime Space and /Short-sea shipping and Inland ports topic, onshore-power supply systems and/or Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems at port-side shall be supported for seagoing freight/passenger vessels (including tugboats and cruise vessels) and inland waterway vessels.

Only TEN-T maritime and inland ports indicated in Annex II to the TEN-T Regulation may be included in the project.

Under the European Maritime Space and Inland ports topic, a relevant synergetic element could be:

- an investment in on-site renewable energy generation in the maritime or inland port, such as photovoltaic power plants, wind turbines, etc., that is primarily used for an onshore-power supply system and/or the Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) system;

- a grid connection from the port to the grid outside of the port as long as that is needed for the onshore-power supply system and/or the Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) system within the maritime or inland port. Please note that costs related to any electrical equipment and / or infrastructure of the electrical grid connection from the port to the grid outside of the port, owned by the Distribution System Operator (DSO) or the Transmission System Operator (TSO) are not eligible.

For the scope of the synergetic element to be relevant to the European Maritime Space and Inland ports topic, the following conditions apply:

- The proposal must demonstrate that the investment in the synergetic element(s) will improve the socio-economic, climate or environmental benefits of the project.

- The budget of the synergetic element(s) must not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the project.

- The budget for the synergetic element(s) should be presented in a separate cost category of the budget table, i.e. D.3 Synergetic elements and as a separate work package.

The synergetic element must not be the only investment in the project. It has to be integrated with other relevant proposed investments in the application i.e. with onshore-power supply systems and/or Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems.

Production of energy within the maritime or inland port for the general grid or industrial purposes may not be supported.

Under the European Maritime Space and Inland ports topic, the upgrade of the electrical grid within maritime or inland port include the necessary electrical infrastructure improvements inside the port boundary that are needed to deliver sufficient power from the grid connection point to the vessels at berth. This could include for example, new medium-voltage cables, reinforcement of existing cable network, new substation within the port, etc. Such upgrade is not considered as a synergetic element, and it can be supported if it is not a stand-alone investment but an integral part of the onshore-power supply and/or the Shore-side battery charging (SBC) investments being the main element(s) of the project, and it is necessary to power the increased electricity demand resulting from the OPS and SBC.

Grid connection from the port to the grid outside of the port, for example, transmission lines outside of the port, external grid reinforcements, substations outside of the port, can be included in the proposal as a synergetic element if this connection is needed for the OPS and /or SBC systems.

In both cases, costs related to any electrical equipment and / or infrastructure of the electrical grid upgrade within the port or the connection from the port to the grid outside of the port, owned by the Distribution System Operator (DSO) or the Transmission System Operator (TSO) are not eligible.

For the scope of the synergetic element to be relevant to the European Maritime Space and Inland ports -works topic, the following conditions apply:

- The proposal must demonstrate that the investment in the synergetic element(s) will improve the socio-economic, climate or environmental benefits of the project.

- The budget of the synergetic element(s) must not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs of the project.

- The budget for the synergetic element(s) should be presented in a separate cost category of the budget table, i.e. D.3 Synergetic elements and as a separate work package.

- The synergetic element must not be the only investment in the project. It has to be integrated with other relevant proposed investments in the application i.e. with onshore-power supply systems and/or Shore-side Battery Charging (SBC) systems.

No, onshore-power supply systems dedicated to Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) are not supported.