Financial Instrument for renovations: the EU funding
The EU has made available various sources of funding for the renovation of buildings:
- European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), via EU Member States
- InvestEU Instrument from 2021 (previously EFSI under Horizon 2020), ), via the European Investment Bank
- ELENA instrument, via the European Investment Bank (on-going projects)
- LIFE program, composed by four sub-programs, including one on the clean energy transition, with new funding opportunities, direct funds managed by the Commission
- New and fresh resources will be available for renovations, thanks to the European Green Deal strategy, direct funds managed by the Commission.
TIPS: All EU direct funds for Energy are made available through EU calls and tenders, published regularly on our Pages on EU Funding, Tender & Procurement opportunity.
Building renovation, especially for residential and public buildings, has been regularly addressed in sustainable energy investment forums. These events aim to promote dialogue and exchange of best practices in the development of sustainable energy investment projects and programs.
National support measures
EU countries provide a list of national measures for funding energy efficiency under the amending Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2018/844/EU). They update these lists every three years. The lists can be found in their national energy efficiency action plans.
Original lists: Updates:
Commission report on financial support
A 2013 report from the European Commission studied financial support for energy efficiency in the building sector. It found:
- the EU must improve financial support in the sector if it is to meet its 2020 energy efficiency target
- financial support mechanisms vary significantly across EU countries
- barriers such as high initial costs, long payback periods and perceived credit risk hamper energy efficiency improvements in buildings
- so far, there is limited information on the effectiveness of currently available financial support mechanisms