progres.nrw – Heat and cooling network grants
Grants for companies building, expanding or modernising public-supply heat and cooling networks in North Rhine-Westphalia, including connected equipment and studies.
Esta oportunidade está atualmente disponível em inglês.
The grant does not have to be repaid if you meet the award conditions.
You can fund pipe networks, thermal storage, crossings under or over waterways and infrastructure, connections between existing networks, and equipment that makes heat distribution more efficient, including intelligent measurement and controls. Heat sources can include unavoidable industrial waste heat, rivers and lakes, mine water, deep geothermal energy, wastewater and thermal waste treatment. Studies for construction, expansion and modernisation require a technical assessment by the energy and climate ministry.
Investment grants cover up to 30% of eligible investment costs. The ceiling can rise by 20 percentage points for small companies or 10 for medium-sized companies, plus 15 points where the investment uses only renewable energy, waste heat or both, including renewable combined heat and power. For a large heat pump, that 15-point addition requires 100% renewable electricity or gas. The maximum is therefore 65% for a qualifying small-company investment. Studies have a 60% ceiling, potentially increased to 80% for small companies or 70% for medium-sized companies.
The grant must be at least €100,000. For EU-funded awards, eligible total project costs must exceed €200,000. Recoverable VAT is excluded from the cost calculation. Investment awards are also subject to the notification ceiling in Article 4(1)(w) of the EU General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), which governs state aid without individual Commission notification.
You generally cannot combine this grant with other government grants. Supplements under Germany’s Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG) are an exception; EU funding may only supplement KWKG payments for heat/cooling networks and storage. Other state aid must comply with the GBER’s combination rules and maximum aid intensity, including where eligible costs overlap.
Eligibility
- Companies can apply. Awards using the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, or EFRE in German) are normally limited to small and medium-sized companies and municipal companies or institutions. Municipal ownership means more than 50% of shares held by municipalities or municipal associations collectively, or a subsidiary under their controlling influence.
- The project must be implemented in North Rhine-Westphalia. Cross-border projects normally receive support only for the part built within the state.
- The network must extend beyond the property boundary of the heat-generating site and serve customers who are neither owners nor operators of the supplying plant. New and expanded networks normally need supply temperatures no higher than 95°C; a climate-friendly heat source already providing higher temperatures is an exception.
- The system must meet the efficiency criteria of EU Directive 2012/27/EU before the investment or achieve them through the funded work. It must comply with Germany’s Heat Planning Act. Required permits and mandatory municipal heat plans should accompany the application and must reach the authority before approval. The funded investment must remain yours for its required use period.
- Large heat pumps must have thermal output above 0.5 MW and no more than 8 MW per unit, using renewable heat sources, unavoidable waste heat or both. They must meet the minimum-efficiency criteria in Annex VII of EU Directive 2018/2001 and the rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases in EU Regulation 517/2014, as amended. Waste heat is only unavoidable where it cannot be used within the production process or reduced with reasonable effort; using it must not prevent efficiency improvements in the medium term.
- Planning expenditure, repairs, replacement parts and legally required or authority-ordered measures are excluded. Separately eligible studies remain subject to the ministry’s technical assessment.
- Fossil-fuel generation equipment is excluded except for natural gas meeting the 2030 and 2050 climate requirements in Annex I, section 4.30 of EU Taxonomy Regulation 2021/2139. Modernising fossil-heat storage or distribution requires a network suitable for renewable or waste heat and must not increase fossil generation except for gas; any resulting increase in gas generation must satisfy Annex I, section 4.31 of that regulation. Existing combined heat and power supply cannot be displaced, except supply based on coal or mineral oil.
- For ERDF-funded work, support is limited to demand-based heat-network expansion and interconnection, primarily using environmental or unavoidable waste heat. Projects must demonstrate their contribution to the programme’s equality, non-discrimination and sustainability criteria. Gas-fired combined heat and power support is limited to upgrading networks to efficient district supply or plants to high-efficiency combined heat and power. Networks and storage must withstand long-term climate effects, prioritise energy efficiency and align their emissions with climate neutrality by 2050. Land impacts should be minimised, and biomass should carry sustainability certification.
- Companies subject to the GBER’s sector or aid exclusions, an outstanding recovery order for unlawful aid, or its “undertaking in difficulty” definition are excluded. The last category includes companies in insolvency proceedings or meeting the legal conditions for creditor-requested insolvency; Article 2(18) sets the full test.
How to apply
- Estado
- Aberto continuamente
- Condições do período de candidaturas
- Only complete applications are processed, in arrival order and subject to available funds. The guideline expires on 30 June 2027; this is not a separate application deadline.[^c7][^c8]
Apply in writing to Bezirksregierung Arnsberg using its prescribed forms, available from the authority or bra.nrw.de. For an EFRE/JTF application, use the EFRE portal at efre.ecoh.nrw.de. Complete applications are assessed in arrival order while funds remain; funding is discretionary. The guideline runs until 30 June 2027.
Submit a financing plan, an itemised cost calculation and an explanation of the proposed financing, with a declaration that work has not started and will not start before approval. Signing a delivery or service contract for implementation normally counts as starting. For construction, planning, ground investigations, land purchase and site preparation do not count unless they are the sole funded purpose.
After approval, place legally binding project orders worth at least 20% of eligible total costs within six months of receiving the award notice. Otherwise the grant entitlement expires, unless you demonstrate that the delay was outside your responsibility. Follow the award notice’s conditions, document how funds were used and keep records for the retention period it specifies; the authority handles payment, proof of use and any recovery of the grant.
Applying also means consenting to storage of funding-related data and its use for statistics and programme evaluation, publication of evaluation results and their transmission to public institutions. Submitted documents may be used by the authority for publication and evaluation. Individual awards above €100,000 are published in the EU state-aid transparency database or a national or regional aid-transparency website within six months of the award.