Find EU-funding for your projects now!Search for FundingSearch for programsReset all filters

  1. Select the type of organisation that you are interested in to implement projects.

    The role of an organisation involved could by lead partner, regular project partner, associate partner, and observers.

    Info
    Type of organisation
  2. Select countries that you are interested in to implement projects.

    The funding regions are defined by countries only. In case only part of a country (certain NUTS regions) is eligible for funding relevant information is provided in the description of the programme.

    Info
    Funding region
  3. Select themes that you are interested in to implement projects.

    16 different thematic keywords were predefined when the database was set up. Each call is classified according to this system either with one, two or more themes to facilitate the search for suitable calls.

    Info
    Topics
  4. You can use free text when searching for interesting calls. All you need to do is to enter a phrase in the text bar that EuroAccess is to look for in its database.

    When looking for a phrase in the free text bar, the system will perform an exact-match search. This means that it will search the database for the exact words, in their exact order. However, you can opt for two different approaches:

    1. You can use “AND”, in this way: One AND Two. EuroAccess will look in the database for the fields which records contain both One and Two, regardless of their order and their position in any sentence.

    2. You can use the “OR”, in this way: One OR Two. In this case, EuroAccess will search the database for fields that contain either the word One or the word Two. It will retrieve all the fields with one of these words or with both.

    However, you should prefer phrases or complex words over simple words in you text searches.

    Info
    Keyword
    Selection of eligible entitiesReset all
  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

    All education and training facilities for people of different age groups.

    An intergovernmental organization having legal personality under public international law or a specialized agency established by such an international organization. An international organization, the majority of whose members are Member States or Associated Countries and whose main objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe, is an International Organization of European Interest.

    A person with legal rights and obligations. Unlike a legal entity, a natural person does not have a legal act (e.g. association, limited liability company, etc.).

    An NPO is an institution or organization which, by virtue of its legal form, is not profit-oriented or which is required by law not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. An NGO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that does not represent business interests. Pursues a common purpose for the benefit of society.

    A partnership, corporation, person, or agency that is for-profit and not operated by the government.

    Any government or other public administration, including public advisory bodies, at the national, regional or local level.

    A research institution is a legal entity established as a non-profit organization whose main objective is to conduct research or technological development. A college/university is a legal entity recognized by its national education system as a university or college or secondary school. It may be a public or private institution.

    A microenterprise, a small or medium-sized enterprise (business) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361. To qualify as an SME for EU funding, an enterprise must meet certain conditions, including (a) fewer than 250 employees and (b) an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. These ceilings apply only to the figures for individual companies.

    Selection of eligible countriesReset all
    Selection of topicsReset all
  1. Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation 

    This topic focuses on strengthening governance, fostering institutional capacity, and enhancing cross-border cooperation. It includes promoting multilevel, transnational, and cross-border governance by designing and testing effective structures and mechanisms, as well as encouraging collaboration between public institutions on various themes. 

    Innovation capacity and awareness are also key, with actions aimed at increasing the ability of individuals and organizations to adopt and apply innovative practices. This involves empowering innovation networks and stimulating innovation across different sectors. 

    Institutional cooperation and network-building play a crucial role, supporting long-term partnerships to improve administrative processes, share regional knowledge, and promote intercultural understanding. This also includes cooperation between universities, healthcare facilities, schools, sports organizations, and efforts in management and capacity building. 

    This topic focuses on strengthening the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors while ensuring sustainable development and environmental protection. It covers agricultural products (e.g., fruits, meat, olives), organic farming, horticulture, and innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture. It also addresses forest management, wood products, and the promotion of biodiversity and climate resilience in forestry practices.

    In the food sector, the focus lies on developing sustainable and resilient food chains, promoting organic food production, enhancing seafood products, and ensuring food security and safety. Projects also target the development of the agro-food industry, including innovative methods for production, processing, and distribution.

    Fisheries and animal management are essential aspects, with an emphasis on sustainable fishery practices, aquaculture, and animal health and welfare. This also includes efforts to promote responsible fishing, marine conservation, and the development of efficient resource management systems.

    Soil and air quality initiatives play a crucial role in environmental protection and public health. This includes projects aimed at combating soil and air pollution, implementing pollution management systems, and preventing soil erosion. Additionally, innovative approaches to improving air quality—both outdoors and indoors—are supported, alongside advancing knowledge and best practices in soil and air management.

    This topic focuses on protecting the environment, promoting biodiversity, and addressing the challenges of climate change and resource management. It includes efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, develop low-carbon technologies, and reduce GHG emissions. Biodiversity promotion and natural protection are key aspects. 

    It also covers improving soil and air quality by reducing pollution, managing contamination, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing air quality both outdoors and indoors. Water management plays an essential role, including sustainable water distribution, monitoring systems, innovative wastewater treatment technologies, and water reuse policies. Additionally, it addresses the protection and development of waterways, lakes, and rivers, as well as sustainable wetland management. 

    This topic focuses on preserving, promoting, and enhancing cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable way. It includes efforts to increase the attractiveness of cultural and natural sites through preservation, valorisation, and the development of heritage objects, services, and products. Cultural heritage management, arts, and culture play a key role, including maritime heritage routes, access to cultural sites, and cultural services like festivals, concerts, and art workshops. 

    Tourism development is also central, with actions aimed at promoting natural assets, protecting and developing natural heritage, and increasing touristic appeal through the better use of cultural, natural, and historical heritage. It also covers the improvement of tourist services and products, the creation of ecotourism models, and the development of sustainable tourism strategies. 

    This topic focuses on the sustainable management, protection, and valorisation of natural resources and areas, such as habitats, geo parks, and protected zones. It also includes preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage, landscapes, and protecting marine environments. 

    Circular economy initiatives play a key role, with actions aimed at innovative waste management, ecological treatment techniques, and advanced recycling systems. Projects may focus on improving recycling technologies, organic waste recovery, and establishing repair and re-use networks. Additionally, pollution prevention and control efforts address ecological economy practices, marine litter reduction, and sustainable resource use. 

    This topic covers labour market development and employment, focusing on creating job opportunities, optimizing existing jobs, and addressing academic (un)employment and job mobility. It also includes attracting a skilled workforce and improving working conditions for various groups. 

    Strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and boosting entrepreneurship are key priorities. This includes enhancing SME capacities, supporting social entrepreneurship, and promoting innovative business models. Activities may focus on creating advisory systems for start-ups, spin-offs, and incubators, fostering business networks, and improving the competitiveness of SMEs through knowledge and technology transfer, digital transformation, and sustainable business practices. 

    This topic focuses on fostering community integration and strengthening a common identity by promoting social cohesion, positive relations, and the development of shared spaces and services. It supports initiatives that enhance intercultural understanding and cooperation between different societal groups. 

    Demographic change and migration address key societal challenges, such as an aging population, active aging, and silver economy strategies. It also includes adapting public services and infrastructure to demographic shifts, tackling social and spatial segregation, and addressing brain drain. Migration-related actions cover policy development, strategic planning, and the integration of migrants to create inclusive and resilient communities. 

    All projects where ICT has a significant role, including tailor-made ICT solutions in different fields, as well as digital innovation hubs, open data, Internet of Things; ICT access and connecting (remote) areas with digital infrastructure and services; services and applications for citizens (e-health, e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion, etc.); services and applications for companies (e-commerce, networking, digital transformation, etc.).

    This is about the mitigation and management of risks and disasters, and the anticipation and response capacity towards the actors regarding specific risks and management of natural disasters, for example, prevention of flood and drought hazards, forest fire, strong weather conditions, etc.. It is also about risk assessment and safety.

    This topic focuses on enhancing education, training, and opportunities for children, youth, and adults. It covers the expansion of educational access, reduction of barriers to education, and improvement of higher education and lifelong learning. It also includes vocational education, common learning programs, and initiatives supporting labour mobility and educational networks. Additionally, it addresses the promotion of media literacy, digital learning tools, and the development of innovative educational approaches to strengthen knowledge, skills, and societal participation. 

    This topic emphasizes the role of culture and media in education and social development. It supports initiatives that foster creativity, cultural awareness, and artistic expression among children and youth. Activities include promoting cross-border cooperation in the audiovisual sector, enhancing digital content creation skills, and boosting the distribution of educational and cultural media products. Furthermore, it encourages the development of media literacy initiatives, helping young audiences critically engage with digital and media content. By connecting education, creativity, and media, this topic strengthens cultural identity and supports inclusive, knowledge-based societies. 

    This topic covers actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. It includes energy management, energy-saving methods, and evaluating energy efficiency measures. Projects may focus on the energy rehabilitation and efficiency of buildings and public infrastructure, as well as promoting energy efficiency through cooperation among experienced firms, institutions, and local administrations. 

    In the field of renewable energy, this encompasses the development and expansion of wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, and other sustainable energy sources. Activities include increasing renewable energy production, enhancing research capacities, and developing innovative technologies for energy storage and management. Projects may also address sustainable regional bioenergy policies, financial instruments for renewable energy investments, and the establishment of cooperative frameworks for advancing renewable energy initiatives. 

    This topic focuses on promoting equal rights and strengthening social inclusion, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups. It covers activities enhancing the capacity and participation of children, young people, women, elderly people, and socially excluded groups. Activities can address the creation of inclusive infrastructure, improving access and opportunities for people with disabilities, and fostering social cohesion through innovative care services. It also includes initiatives supporting victims of gender-based violence, promoting human rights, and developing policies and tools for social integration and equal participation in society. 

    This area focuses on improving health and social services, enhancing accessibility and efficiency for diverse groups such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. It includes the development of new healthcare models, innovative medical diagnostics and treatments (e.g., dementia, cancer, diabetes), and the management of hospitals and care facilities. Additionally, activities addressing rare diseases, promoting overall wellbeing, and fostering preventive health measures fall under this theme. It also covers sports promotion, encouraging physical activity as a means to improve public health and social inclusion. 

    This area focuses on strengthening justice, safety, and security through cross-border cooperation and institutional capacity-building. It includes initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of police, fire, and rescue services, enhancing civil protection systems, and rapid response capabilities for emergencies like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. Activities also target the prevention and combatting of organized crime, drug-related crimes, and human trafficking, as well as ensuring secure and efficient border management. Furthermore, it covers initiatives promoting the protection of citizens, community safety, and the development of innovative security services and technologies. 

    This area focuses on the development and improvement of transport and mobility systems, covering all modes of transport, including urban mobility and public transportation. Actions aiming at improving transport connections through traffic and transport planning, rehabilitation and modernisation of infrastructure, better connectivity, and enhanced accessibility. Projects promoting multimodal transport and logistics, optimising intermodal transport chains, offering sustainable and efficient logistics solutions, and developing multimodal mobility strategies. Also, initiatives establishing cooperation among logistic centres and providing access to clean, efficient, and multimodal transport corridors and hubs. 

    Activities focusing on the sustainable development and strategic planning of urban, regional, and rural areas. This includes urban development such as city planning, urban renewal, and strengthening urban-rural links through climate adaptation, sustainable mobility, water efficiency, participatory processes, smart cities, and the regeneration of public urban spaces. Regional planning and development cover the implementation of regional policies and programmes, sustainable land use management plans, integrated regional action plans, spatial planning, and the efficient management of marine protected areas. Rural and peripheral development addresses the challenges of remote and sparsely populated areas by fostering rural community development, enhancing rural economies, improving access to remote regions, and promoting tailored policies for rural sustainability and growth. 

    Keyword search
Apply selection

Deadline expired

The deadline for this call has expired.

Call key data

Developing support mechanisms for energy communities

Funding Program

LIFE - sub-programme “Clean Energy Transition”

Call number

LIFE-2022-CET-ENERCOM

deadlines

Opening
17.05.2022

Deadline
16.11.2022 17:00

Funding rate

95 %

Call budget

€ 6,500,000.00

Link to the call

Link to the submission

Call content

short description

This topic aims to support actions that foster the collaboration between local and regional authorities and energy communities and/or actions that develop integrated services to facilitate the emergence and growth of community energy projects.

Call objectives

Energy communities can help citizens and local authorities invest in renewables and energy efficiency. Community-owned projects can allow citizens to finance sustainable energy investments that deliver local economic benefits, social cohesion, and other priorities such as improving the energy efficiency of housing or reducing energy poverty. The participation of citizens in renewable energy projects may also facilitate social acceptance at the local level. The role of energy communities in the EU energy systems is expected as well to grow in line with the REPowerEU plan to phase out EU dependence on fossil fuels imports.

An increasing number of local authorities wish to make sure that more citizens and local communities benefit from the energy transition and play an active role in it. In fact, local government is uniquely well-placed to support, partner and invest, and to provide a positive planning and policy environment to help drive community energy.

Designing adequate public interventions at the local level is key but there is no one-size-fits-all solution to trigger the creation of energy communities locally. The level of public participation and the type of actions required vary significantly depending on the specific context of each city and town. Building on initiatives such as the Covenant of Mayors, there is also a need to strengthen the technical and financial capacities of local actors to support citizen-led initiatives in the field of energy (particularly in Member States with low levels of community energy activity).

Taking sustainable energy projects off the ground can be complex due to the regulatory and policy context (e.g. changing national support schemes for renewables, burdensome licensing, heavy administrative procedures, difficulties in coordinating project implementation in atomised markets, etc.). For relatively small and citizen-led actors like energy communities, there are some additional practical challenges such as lack of information, limited access to finance, difficulties in aggregating small interventions, difficulties in managing the public participation and engagement, and establishing effective governance and decision-making structures. These hurdles prevent energy communities around Europe from developing their potential. An effective way of tacking this complexity, is supplying integrated services to help energy communities develop sustainable energy projects.

read more

Expected effects and impacts

Proposals are expected to address one of the two scopes below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal's introduction.

Scope A - Local authorities collaborating with citizen-led-initiatives

Under this scope, proposals should foster the collaboration between local and regional authorities (including energy agencies) and energy communities. This could be done in many ways, but all proposals should include at least three of the actions below:

  • Participation in and/or set up of municipal energy initiatives and energy communities including diverse and hybrid forms of collective ownership with participation from municipal authorities and citizens aimed at supporting the achievement of local and regional energy policy objectives.
  • Support to the emergence of citizen energy initiatives that empower local actors to collectively address energy transition targets through use of public resources, funds and capacity. The role of local and regional authorities could include helping community projects access citizen finance and bank loans (e.g. through guarantees, seed funding for revolving funds, technical support for the early stages of project development) and facilitating procurement of locally generated renewable energy from community energy projects.
  • Creation of a supportive local policy framework for the development of community energy projects (e.g. through community participation or investment quotas, more streamlined and simplified environmental permit procedures) and facilitation of a dialogue among different actors involved in community projects (e.g. community members, relevant economic players, national regulators, the local authority and other societal, environmental or energy actors in the area). Where necessary, projects may also develop legal templates that enable the participation of municipal authorities in their potential different roles, acknowledging the regulatory differences that apply to these actors as members, as sponsors or as facilitators in the different Member States.
  • Training and capacity building on community energy development (for local and regional authority officials, local communities and other relevant local actors) and promotion of citizen participation in energy communities.

Scope B - Developing integrated services to support community energy

Under this scope, proposals should support actions that improve market conditions and develop integrated services aimed at reducing complexity, simplifying decision making and stimulating the creation of community energy projects. These services may be implemented by public or private actors in close coordination with local and/or regional authorities in targeted territories. The integrated services designed should lead to local community energy investment pipelines and could cover:

  • Capacity building and facilitating access of local energy communities and cooperatives to information and guidance about setting up, financing and operating community projects (e.g. licencing, public procurement of community energy, business models, legal aspects).
  • Connecting different actors in the value chain (e.g. technology providers, financiers, public actors in charge of licensing, aggregators).
  • Aggregation of small sustainable energy projects including (where relevant) support for energy commercialisation and participation in flexibility markets.
  • Development of financial tools to facilitate the emergence of community energy projects and their access to citizen finance and bank loans (e.g. through guarantees, seed funding for revolving funds, technical support for the early stages of project development).

For scopes A and B (where relevant):

Proposals should justify how selected pilots fit either the definition of “renewable energy community” according to the revised Renewable Energy Directive ((EU) 2018/2001) and/or the definition of “citizen energy community” according to the Directive on common rules for the internal electricity market ((EU) 2019/944).

Proposals could cover any area related to sustainable energy (renewable energy generation, transmission, distribution, citizen-led renovation, energy efficiency, e-mobility, district heating, etc.). Project proponents may choose to focus on one or more areas.

Proposed activities can also promote (if they wish to) inter-consumers and/or inter-communities trading/sharing of sustainable energy virtual-net-metering, (collective) energy storage solutions, or peer to peer trading.

Proposals should demonstrate the support of the stakeholders which are necessary to ensure the success of the action (in particular, local or regional authorities).

Proposals should explain how their activities complement national enabling frameworks for energy communities (where relevant) and build on the work of the European Energy Communities Repository and the Rural Energy Communities Advisory Hub.

Activities should make use of existing initiatives, networks and platforms as relevant (e.g. Covenant of Mayors, Smart Cities Marketplace).

The development of tools and platforms is not expected to be the core activity of proposals.

Proposals should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and include a clear action plan to communicate experiences and results towards potential replicators across the EU.

Proposals replicating existing innovative organisational solutions should justify their choice and show how they will adapt solutions to their local context.

Projects should provide policy feedback to improve public policies, legal and regulatory environments in the field of community energy across Europe including the transposition of relevant directives.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up 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.

read more

Expected results

Proposals should result in the emergence and growth of energy communities in different areas related to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Proposals should quantify their impacts using the indicators listed below, where relevant, as well as other project-specific performance indicators:

  • Number of citizen-led initiatives supported or created as a result of the project.
  • Number of citizens taking part in energy communities as a result of the project.
  • Number of actors with increased skills in the area of community energy (local and regional authority officials or other relevant actors).
  • Number of local and regional authorities committed to replicate best practice experiences.
  • Primary energy savings triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
  • Renewable energy generation triggered by the project (in GWh/year).
  • Investments in sustainable energy renovation triggered by the project (cumulative, in million Euro).
  • Number of operational integrated service hubs at the end of the project, although investment and upscale may happen after project completion (scope B).
  • Development of local community energy investment pipelines (in million Euro of investments within the first 5 years) (scope B).

The impacts of the proposals should be demonstrated during the project and within 5 years after the project lifetime.

read more

Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Albania (Shqipëria), Andorra, Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна)

eligible entities

Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)

Mandatory partnership

Yes

Project Partnership

Proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • non-EU countries:
      • please see the List of Participating Countries in LIFE for an up-to-date list of countries with which the association agreements have started to produce legal effects (either through provisional application or their entry into force).
  • the coordinator must be established in an eligible country

Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self-employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).

International organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.

Additional information

Topics

Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Circular Economy, Natural Resources, 
Competitiveness of Enterprises, Employment/Labour Market, SME & entrepreneurship, 
Demographic Change, European Citizenship, Migration, 
Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

Additional Information

Proposal page limits and layout:

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

  • Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants and the summarised budget for the project
  • Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project
  • Part C containing additional project data
  • mandatory annexes and supporting documents:
    • detailed budget table
    • participant information
  • optional annexes: letters of support

Page limit - Part B: 65 pages

To see more information about this call, you can register for free here
or log in with an existing account.
Log in Register now