Standalone projects

Yes, any legal entity (public or private with limitations) established in the EU can submit a proposal for a project located in another region, but all proposals must relate to activities benefitting a territory covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan.

The coordinator of the application can be a different legal entity (e.g. a local/regional authority) from the entity who has requested/signed the loan (e.g. central government, Finance Ministry) as long as the legal entity that is linked to the loan is part of the consortium who submits the application.

State aid rules are fully applicable to projects submitted to the PSLF call for proposals. Please find more information about the notion of state aid here: competition-policy.ec.europa.eu.

No. Applicants can only apply in respect of an adopted Territorial Just Transition Plan.

A loan request may be submitted to the EIB at any time. However, it is advisable that the grant applicant enter in contact with the EIB well in advance to the Grant Application (or the relevant cut-off date) given the direct relationship between the loan amount and the grant amount. The EIB will need to pre-appraise the project, mostly from a technical perspective, before being in the position to formulate an indicative estimate of the project cost and the relevant loan amount. Only when the project will have passed the EIB pre-appraisal screening, it is advisable for the potential Grant Applicant to undergo the Application process. This is even more important in the case of Framework Loans. The risk for the Grant Applicant is that, due to the scope or the amount of the project presented in the application, the EIB may not be in the position to confirm such information and hence the Grant application is halted or, in the worst case, rejected.

Yes, with limitations. In order to be eligible, the private bodies must be entrusted with a public service mission and established in an EU Member State as described in point 6 of the Call document for the call "Public Sector Loan Facility"PDF

The application must benefit a territory covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan and must be consistent with this Plan and the sectors and thematic areas it sets out. As indicated in section 2 of the public sector loan facility call for proposals, projects related to a wide range of sustainable investments may be funded. The Facility could support, among others, investments in renewable energy and green and sustainable mobility, including mobile assets and the promotion of green hydrogen.

The part of the project which is located in and/or is benefitting the territory covered by the approved Territorial Just Transition Plan is eligible for a grant. It can be separated from the national project and be submitted under PSLF. The rest of the project is not eligible.

No, loan schemes in the meaning of the PSLF Regulation (also called framework loans) can only be provided by the EIB directly. Project promoters who have received an intermediated loan may only apply for a PSLF grant under the topic stand-alone projects. A stand-alone project can comprise more than one sub-project.

There is no prioritisation. It is on a first-come-first-served basis and there is available budget for the months to come. Advisory support is available for developing project proposals and their implementation, including for capacity building. For the public sector beneficiaries the service is free of charge.

Financial support to third parties involved in the implementation of projects is only allowed in topic JTM-2026-PSLF-Framework Loans for grants awarded to sets of projects grouped under an EIB framework loan. Further details may be found in point 6 of the call document Call document for the call "Public Sector Loan Facility"PDF

All public or private entities with a public mandate can apply directly for support under the Public Sector Loan Facility. However, PSLF may only support projects that are covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and that are located in or benefit just transition territories.

CINEA is solely responsible for the grant management and does not oversee the use of the EIB loan.

The PSLF final grant amount represents the remaining eligible lump sum contribution claimed for implemented work packages, as described in the grant agreement. It is calculated as follows:

• if project’s technical completion rate is 100% and reported lump sum contributions are in line with the grant agreement, the final grant amount will be calculated based on the amounts indicated in Annex 2 of the agreement;
• if project’s completion rate is partial, the final grant amount will be reduced and calculated proportionally to the degree of implementation and achieved resultsPDF;
• in case the awarded loan amount is reduced during grant agreement implementation, an amendment to the PSLF grant agreement will first need to be processed to accordingly reduce the PSLF grant amount. The calculation of the final grant amount will then be calculated in proportion to the revised grant amount.

For further information, please consult article 22.3.4 Final payment — Final grant amount — Revenues and Profit — Recovery of the grant agreement.

Applicants need to respect the maximum funding rates specified in the call document (15% or 25%) and the funding rate of the simplified business plan needs to be consistent with the funding rate requested in the application form.

No. Full financing is not possible under PSLF. PSLF supports investments that do not generate sufficient streams of revenues to cover their investment costs. The applicant will have to use its own resources (public and/or private) to co-fund the project costs. Call document for the call "Public Sector Loan Facility"PDF

Beneficiaries must isolate the costs related to the project for which they are applying for the grant and correctly indicate the amount of loan and grant requested, own resources and other resources if applicable. However, they can take into account all costs of the overall project for the financial analysis (i.e. the simplified business plan and the financial information file). The project applying for the grant has to be the same as the project applying for the loan.

No. The drawdown of debt and grant are not to be encoded as revenues in the calculator (annex 2 of the application).

There are no documents requiring official signatures in the PSLF application phase. The application is filled online and submitted through the dedicated portal (with an ECAS password). The annexes do not require any signature from legal representatives nor Ministry.

No, the PIC number received at registration is sufficient to submit an application. The validation of a PIC for an organisation is only triggered when the proposal has been selected for funding. More information may be found webgate.ec.europa.eu.

Considering the application for a loan, detailed information about the EIB’s requirements may be found on EIB’s websitePDF.

Considering the application for a grant, the mitigation measures of the project’s environmental impacts need to be described under point 1.4 of the Application Form, for example through using green procurement, environmental management systems etc. Furthermore, a Decarbonisation plan must be submitted, if available as described in section 5 (p10) of the Call document for the call "Public Sector Loan Facility"PDF

Yes, projects which have started prior to the submission of the application to the Facility can be supported provided they are not completed by the date of signature of the grant agreement. With particular reference to the EIB appraisal activity of the loan component, projects may still be considered bankable if project implementation is not substantially completed. Project costs that have already been incurred are taken into account in the assessment of the entire project and may be included in the overall project cost. However, the EIB will verify that the requested loan will not replace any long-term financing already contracted between the project promoter and other banks/intermediaries to finance the same project. The amount of the EIB loan shall not exceed the cost foreseen to complete the residual portion of the project, unless justified for economic reasons or reasons relating to EU policies pursued by the EIB.

Yes, a simplified business plan narrative template together with a calculator sheet are available in the eGrants submission tool.

A project is considered completed when all the activities foreseen under each work package defined in the Grant Agreement (GA) have been fully implemented by the end date stipulated in the GA. If infrastructure construction works are involved, the works will have to be completed and delivered (e.g. certificate of completion of works and technical compliance is delivered by the relevant competent authority). The coordinator/beneficiary submits a final periodic report (REPA) upon completion of all Work Packages within 60 days after the end of the reporting period set in the Grant Agreement.

The amount of the combined support depends on the financing solution potentially available as well as on the territory where the potential project is located. The EIB loan (or the Intermediated financing covered by a EIB loan) can cover normally up to 50% of the project cost and the PSLF grant covers 15% to 25% of the loan. However, as an extraordinary supporting measure, the EIB Board of Directors have already agreed that financing for a PSLF project located in Less Developed Regions and Transition Regions can go beyond 50% of the project investment cost, while respecting rules on limits on combined EU and EIB support (maximum 90% of the project costs).

The definition may be found under 'Specific cases' on page 12: "Private bodies entrusted with a public service mission — Private bodies which have been entrusted by a public authority, by legislation or contract, to carry out services of general interest (i.e. services that the Member State considers as being of general interest and therefore subject to a specific public service obligation)".

Where available, at the last stages of loan appraisal, applicants should provide the figure for the greenhouse gas emission savings provided by the EIB in the Environmental and Social data sheet (European Investment Bank Environmental and Social Standards (eib.org)).

The time horizon of the simplified business plan (reference period) should be based on the project's economic life.

In the simplified business plan, the applicants will have to explain how the reference period for the project was established, highlighting if this period reflects existing voluntary guidance, such as the Economic Appraisal Vademecum 2021-2027 (and if applicable, providing a justification for departing from this guidance, for example based on the regulatory or contractual background of the investment) and the assumptions used for the project operating costs over the reference period (e.g. inflation rate).

An EIB loan can be requested by public sector entities to support individual projects or sets of projects (see EIB loans for the public sector), to be combined with an EU grant under the facility. Public sector entities can also approach EIB financial intermediaries. EIB loans under the facility will follow EIB rules, policies and procedures.

The EIB will usually cover up to 50% of the total project costs. As a supporting measure, the EIB may increase its financing for a PSLF project in Less Developed Regions and Transition Regions beyond 50% of the project investment cost, while respecting rules on limits on combined EU and EIB support.

In order to unlock and implement JTM resources, EU Member States must prepare strategic Territorial Just Transition Plans (TJTPs), which will be part of their cohesion policy programmes.

The TJTPs will include an outline and timeline for the transition process until 2030 and 2050, and identify the eligible territories expected to be most negatively impacted by this transition. They should set out the social, economic, and environmental challenges stemming from the phasing out of fossil fuel-related activities or decarbonisation of greenhouse gas-intensive processes or products.

Moreover, they should outline the intended use of the public sector loan facility.

More information can be found on the Just Transition Platform website.

The EIB financing under PSLF is approved under the Bank’s lending policies and Climate Bank Roadmap. In order to benefit from the Grant Component, any project’s location and scope shall be consistent with an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) and with the PSLF Regulation.

The EIB may decide to continue with the appraisal and approval of a project even in the case the grant approval process is not successful.

No. Applicants wishing to apply for more than one topic must submit a separate proposal under each topic.

The PSLF is a blending instrument providing the framework to combine a loan from a finance partner (EIB) or one of its financial intermediaries and an EU grant from the European Commission.

If the proposal is successful, the Central Validation Service will contact the Coordinator after the PIC is validated, to enter the bank account details into the Participant Register and upload the necessary supporting documents (My Organisations > Actions > Modify Organisation).

No, the reimbursement of the loan cannot be encoded as an operating expense of the project in the calculator (annex 2 of the application).

The grant scope of every PSLF project, which is defined in Annex 1 - Description of the Action (Parts A and B) of the Grant Agreement, must be aligned with the approved EIB loan scope. Any changes of the grant scope are subject to compliance with the principles and conditions under which the proposal was selected, and the grant was awarded upon GA signature.

In both cases, selected proposals and signed GAs (under implementation), limited scope modifications may be accepted provided they:

• respect the principle of equal treatment of applicants,
• do not result in any significant changes to the project (such as changes concerning project objectives and outputs),
• do not lead to an increase of the grant amount,
• do not call into question the results of the already completed evaluation,
• do not call into question the grant award decision (as per art. 39 GA), i.e. changes that would have influenced eligibility, selection, award criteria are not permissible.

If scope modifications are necessary, a case-by-case assessment will be conducted, as follows:

• for selected proposals:
• Approval of the modification during the GA preparation phase, if it complies with applicable legal frameworks, in particular PSLF Regulation, PSLF call for proposalsPDF, Model Grant AgreementPDF, Annotated Grant AgreementPDF, Financial Regulation.
• Termination of the GA preparation if the modification alters the evaluation or the selection results.
• for signed GAs:
• GA amendment to implement the necessary changes in line with the applicable legal frameworks, as mentioned above.
• GA amendment to remove project’s elements which would compromise the objective and outputs on the basis of which the initial GA was awarded, with a corresponding reduction in the grant amount.
• Termination of the GA in force, in which case the beneficiary may decide to submit a new proposal which will undergo a new evaluation.