Grant for large bespoke green investments

• Self-employed people, companies with legal personality and European economic interest groupings can apply. Small, medium and large businesses are covered; non-profit associations and partnerships without legal personality are excluded.
• The investment site must be in the Flemish Region and registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. You may apply before establishing a Flemish site, but must have it when carrying out the investment.
• Investment project costs must total at least €1.5 million. The grant uses only accepted engineering, equipment and installation costs after subtracting the standard alternative. Accepted costs must be invoiced by third-party suppliers with an ownership relationship of less than 25% to the applicant, and who are neither partner nor linked enterprises under the EU definition. The percentage concerns share capital or voting rights, including relevant indirect holdings; decisive control also matters. Check the VLAIO rules on partner and linked enterprises when assessing a supplier.
• If your technology qualifies under the Ecology Premium+ technology list at submission, use that scheme. Legally required investments are excluded, including energy-policy and environmental-permit obligations. Performance must exceed applicable standards. Investment anticipating a future standard must be completed at least 18 months before it enters into force. Do not combine support for the same eligible investment costs from different schemes or organisations.
• Fossil-fuel installations are excluded. For captured CO₂ use, the CO₂ must enter your own production process at a Flemish site, and you must show its origin cannot be avoided through another emissions-reduction measure. You must also demonstrate a negative net present value over the investment’s lifetime: its future net returns, expressed in today’s money, do not cover its cost.
• The environmental cost-effectiveness test compares environmental gains with extra cost. Only a positive result qualifies; class A requires a score of at least 1.5 and class B a score above zero and below 1.5. Investment with an ecological extra-cost payback period below two years is excluded.
• Every one of your sites within EBO Vlaanderen’s target group must join and comply with its energy-policy agreement. The target group comprises energy-intensive sites with final energy use of at least 0.1 PJ; check the official EBO eligibility rules for your site. The agreement uses an energy audit and energy plan to improve energy efficiency. Your company must pass the EU undertaking-in-difficulty financial-health test, which checks solvency rather than only bankruptcy. Use VLAIO’s OIM calculation module; where applicable the linked company group is assessed too. A failing latest annual account must be remedied before applying; startup exceptions exist. Companies in dissolution, cessation, bankruptcy, liquidation or insolvency proceedings, or subject to an EU aid-recovery procedure, are excluded.
• Publicly dominated companies are excluded, with a rebuttable presumption of dominance at 50% public ownership. An exception covers privately financed heat networks, shore power, energy sharing and industrial water treatment. Primary agriculture, fishing and aquaculture activities are excluded, but a primary-sector business can invest in a different activity, such as a shop or B&B. Investment must serve professional use and cannot be solely rented out.
• Keep and operate the supported investment for five years after completion, and comply with applicable Flemish rules through that period.

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• Investment may start on or after the first day of the month following submission.

Request a preliminary discussion with a VLAIO project adviser at stres@vlaio.be. Then apply through e-loketondernemers, uploading a project description, Excel budget and company-size determination. Explain the standard alternative, calculated environmental and climate benefits, strategic value and permit status; include both investment and operating costs in the budget.

Applications are accepted continuously. Do not start before the first day of the month following submission: the start is the engineering or first purchase invoice date, or signature of a financial lease. This date does not depend on grant approval. After approval, start within 12 months and complete within three years of the award decision.