Project Development Assistance for sustainable energy investments

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.

PDA proposals should result in the actual launch of an energy efficiency and/or renewable energy investment programme, as well as the delivery of an innovative organisational (facilitation) approach and/or financing solution for sustainable energy investment projects with a particular emphasis on private sector funds. Proposals should demonstrate that every million EUR of EU support will result in at least EUR 15 million of investments in sustainable energy launched during the project duration (at least EUR 10 million for exclusive investments in residential buildings). The evidence in form of signed work or investment contracts, or a similar convincing proof, needs to be planned and indicated in the proposal, and submitted during the project duration. Proposals should also contribute to increased skills and capacity to deliver further sustainable energy investments.

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 results and impacts should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the end of the project.

The indicators for this topic include:

• Number of staff with increased skills within project organisations.
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) launched by the end of the project.
• Number of organisations with increased capacity to deliver investments and/or tailored organisational structures.
• Number of jobs directly and indirectly created.

All proposals submitted under this topic 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 tCO2-eq/year).
• Investments in sustainable energy (energy efficiency and renewable energy) triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).

Funding rate

Other Action Grants (OAGs) — 95%

Objective:Project Development Assistance (PDA) offers technical assistance to convert sustainable energy project ideas into actual investments. It supports public and private project developers in every step of the way to deliver sustainable energy investments of ambition and scale.

Significant investments in sustainable energy need to be mobilised to achieve the EU’s energy and climate targets. 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. PDA projects contribute significantly to the European Green Deal goals[1] and will help pave the way for a decarbonised and clean energy system. In the next years, PDA actions are expected to significantly contribute to accelerating the clean energy transition, as pointed out in the REPowerEU plan[2] to phase out EU dependence on fossil fuel imports, and the Green Deal Investment Plan[3], by stimulating market demand for Net-Zero technologies and assisting in their uptake, thereby also increasing the competitiveness of European economy.

A range of innovative solutions with regard to financing and investment mobilisation were developed in PDA projects under LIFE CET and Horizon 2020 which helped to accelerate investment, shift market boundaries, overcome legal and structural barriers, improve organisational structures and demonstrate practical application of inspiring solutions, replicable in other cities and regions throughout the EU. These projects could serve as a reference for further PDA projects.

PDA projects are expected to mobilise private investments and increase cost-effectiveness of EU and national public budgetary resources by developing ready-to-finance and bankable projects.

PDA projects can also aim to implement investment concepts developed under the European City Facility (EUCF)[4], or developed under the LIFE CET support to heating & cooling networks and industrial clusters, amongst other.

Scope:Project Development Assistance (PDA) will support project promoters in preparing and launching investment pipelines of sustainable energy projects, i.e. energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects. The call topic aims to provide and build technical, economic and legal skills and expertise for project developers needed for the successful project development and implementation. Activities can include project bundling, technical studies, energy audits, assessing financing options, legal advice, tendering procedure preparation, outreach and engagement etc.

Proposals for this topic can be submitted by public or private project promoters such as public authorities or their groupings, public/private infrastructure operators and bodies, energy agencies, energy service companies, retail chains, large property owners, services or industry.

PDA projects must lead to the actual launch of sustainable energy investments within the project duration, demonstrating a leverage factor of at least 15 compared to the technical assistance grant (at least 10 for exclusive investments in residential buildings). In this context, proposals need to identify the initially envisaged investment pipeline.

Proposals could target sectors including:

Buildings

• Existing residential buildings, including the rental sector, social housing, or district-level renovation approaches.
• Existing non-residential buildings, such as public buildings, hospitals, academies, defence facilities or commercial buildings.

District heating/cooling networks

• Decarbonisation and modernisation of existing district heating/cooling networks, including the extension of existing networks provided that the extended networks are fully based on low-temperature renewable energy or waste heat.

Infrastructure

• Existing public infrastructure such as water/wastewater services or lighting.

Industry

• Industry, businesses and services, including SMEs or industrial clusters, clearly advancing beyond business-as-usual approaches.

Renewables

• Renewable energy production by energy communities and other citizen-led initiatives, clearly advancing beyond business-as-usual approaches.

Mobility

• Clean and energy efficient urban transport infrastructure.
• Low emission urban mobility solutions including conversion of urban areas for soft mobility or non-motorised transport.
• Integration of smart recharging infrastructures in buildings, including in multi-family buildings.

Proposals should demonstrate a clear showcase dimension in delivering innovative solutions for accelerating sustainable energy investments across Europe, as regards

• Organisational innovation regarding the mobilisation and/or structuring of the investment programme such as setting up facilitation structures, project development units, one-stop-shops, aggregation and bundling/pooling approaches, or efficient procurement procedures for large-scale portfolios of (mixed) assets; and/or
• Financial engineering with a particular focus on leveraging private investment including blending public with private financing or improved combination of existing funds. This could include Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), dedicated financial instruments, innovative on-bill and on-tax payment schemes, community-based financing schemes etc.

Proposals should aim for high ambition levels, in particular regarding energy savings and decarbonisation, e.g. by focusing on energy efficiency interventions such as deep renovation, nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) or zero-emission buildings (ZEB), including building-integrated renewables, positive energy buildings or districts and/or highly energy efficient infrastructure.

Proposals should also specify the needs to be addressed including e.g. a related market/barrier analysis, the financial and organisational approaches/options to be operationalised during the project duration and the engagement of key stakeholders, ex-ante and/or during the project duration, including financial stakeholders.

Proposals may be submitted by a single applicant or by applicants from a single eligible country.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of a range of EUR 1 million to EUR 1.5 million would allow the specific objectives to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

• For actions that support the establishment of investment plans developed on the basis of the criteria for “efficient district heating and cooling” as set out in the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), please refer to the topic LIFE-2025-CET-DHC.
• For actions supporting cities and regional authorities in implementing decarbonisation plans or local heating and cooling plans, please refer to the topic LIFE-2025-CET-LOCAL.
• For the development of one-stop-shops for the renovation of residential buildings, please refer to topic LIFE-2025-CET-OSS.

[1] Energy and the Green Deal (europa.eu).

[2] Communication from the Commission of 18.5.2022 to the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, REPowerEU Plan, COM(2022) 230 final.

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_24.

[4] https://www.eucityfacility.eu/