Industrial firms in Czechia to receive CZK 15 billion for greener production

Industrial companies in Czechia will receive 15 billion crowns to make their production greener and reduce consumption. The aim is to cut emissions. The government has announced a new grant call for this purpose. The funding will come from the Modernisation Fund and will go to, for example, steel and building-materials producers, as well as companies in the chemical and food industries. The Ministry of the Environment (MŽP) announced this today.

“We are trying to support our companies as they switch to renewable energy sources and invest in energy-saving measures and emissions reductions. This new call follows five previous ones, through which industrial companies were able to draw more than 20 billion crowns,” said Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL).

The Modernisation Fund’s money will go to manufacturing companies and other organisations that rank among the largest producers of carbon dioxide. These include producers of steel and iron, building materials and paper, companies in the chemical and food industries, as well as large hospitals. According to the ministry, companies can receive grants to modernise energy sources and production and processing equipment in order to reduce consumption and harmful emissions.

“These are technologies that reduce total energy consumption by at least 20 percent compared with the situation before support was granted, or cut direct greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent compared with the previous situation,” said Petr Valdman, director of the State Environmental Fund of the Czech Republic.

So far, companies have submitted 37 projects under all the ENERG ETS grant calls, requesting a total of 37 billion crowns. According to the minister, this significantly exceeded the amount of funding the government had available so far. “Now another 15 billion is coming as a major injection of funds. Modernising industry is absolutely essential, not only from an environmental perspective. We are an industrial country and want to remain one, but we need to modernise Czech industry and companies to maintain our competitiveness in the future,” Hladík added.

One of the projects receiving support is an investment by the Orlen Unipetrol Group, which is carrying out work to recover heat from flue gases at its refinery in Kralupy. The aim is to make maximum use of heat from the combustion process to improve energy efficiency and operational efficiency. The equipment is due to be completed in the middle of next year.