Czech Republic first to launch Modernisation Fund, calls expected as early as March

By 2030, the Czech Republic will be able to invest between 120 and 160 billion crowns in the low-carbon transformation. Individual applicants will draw these funds from the European Modernisation Fund, the Czech portion of which is managed by the Ministry of the Environment together with the State Environmental Fund. The Czech Republic is the very first of all eligible countries to launch the Modernisation Fund.

The Modernisation Fund, which was established in the Czech Republic through an amendment to the Emissions Trading Act that took full effect on 1 January 2021, has taken on clearer contours. Its scope will be relatively broad, both in terms of the range of projects and the entities eligible to apply for support.

The eligibility criteria for entities under the Modernisation Fund are very broad, unlike other subsidy programmes such as the Operational Programme Technologies and Applications for Competitiveness (OP TAK).

Nine programmes for different types of projects

The fund will have a total of nine programmes in the Czech Republic, each targeting different projects and applicants. The first three programmes will receive the largest allocations: HEAT, intended for district heating plants; RES+, for new non-combustion renewable energy sources; and ENERG ETS, which will finance energy efficiency improvements and emission reductions in industry covered by the EU ETS.

Draft basic conditions for drawing funding from the Modernisation Fund under the first three programmes have already been published on the State Environmental Fund website. The remaining six programmes will draw smaller amounts from the fund.

Specifically, support will also be provided for projects focused on improving energy efficiency in businesses (the ENERG programme), modernising public transport (TRANSGov), modernising transport for businesses (TRANSCom), increasing energy efficiency in public buildings (ENERGov), community energy (KOMUNERG), and finally modernising public lighting systems (LIGHTPUB).

Pre-registration is a condition

Any entity wishing to draw funding from any Modernisation Fund programme in a given year will have to register in the call for the submission of project proposals. These will be used annually to determine interest in a given programme and subsequently allocate funds.

This year's pre-registration closed on 1 February, meaning that unregistered projects will not be able to apply for support this year, but only in subsequent years.

If a project has been registered, it can already take part in the announced call. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the calls should be published in the first quarter of this year and will most likely run until September. In general, large projects (over 15 billion Kč) will have to undergo notification by the European Commission before funding can begin.

Lead photo source: Pixabay