At least eight funding programmes are already open or in the process of being launched by authorities this year, with a total allocation amounting to more than 5 billion euros, an REI analysis shows. More than 1 billion euros is support for green energy investments. “We are working and in discussions with many companies that are preparing important local investments, and most of them are considering non-reimbursable support both from the government, in the form of state aid, and by accessing European funds,” says Roxana Mircea, managing partner of REI Grup.
The non-reimbursable support, available in the form of both state aid and European funds, is aimed at investments in green energy production and increasing the energy efficiency of companies, in the production of building materials, in the food sector or in the re-industrialisation of certain key regions of the country, by increasing the number of employees and stimulating investment in development. “This is one of the largest and most important allocations of non-reimbursable funds for companies present in Romania since EU accession in 2007”, continues Roxana Mircea. “We are seeing progress even at the level of ministries, which have recruited specialised staff and announced the digitisation of certain key processes. We are therefore optimistic and expect 2024 to be a much better year than 2023”, added the representative of REI Grup, a group of companies among the largest providers of consultancy services specialised in attracting grant funding for both companies and public authorities.
Biggest funding programmes in the first half of 2024
- Just Transition Programme (JTP)
- Session: open, 20.12.2023 – 20.03.2024;
- Support: in the form of grants of up to €200,000 / between €200,000 and €8 million;
- Only for Hunedoara, Gorj, Dolj, Prahova, Galați and Mureș counties;
- Total allocation: €1 billion (est.);
- Eligible applicants: start-ups, SMEs, large enterprises;
- Program objective: to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the transition to climate neutrality for the counties of Hunedoara, Gorj, Dolj, Prahova, Galați and Mureș;
- Responsible authority: Ministry of European Investment and Projects (MIPE)
- Call details
2. Modernisation Fund in Romania – Key Program 1: Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Storage
- Session: opening (T1 est.);
- Grant support: up to €20 million / project;
- Investment directions:
- Self-consumption: allocation €500m / approx. 45-50% grant / €350,000 / MW (est.)
- Generation: allocation €550 million / €100-130,000 / MW (est.)
- Total allocation: € 1.050 bn
- Eligible applicants: start-ups, SMEs, large enterprises;
- Responsible authority: Ministry of Energy (ME)
- Call details
The Modernisation Fund Program started in November last year with the session dedicated to the agriculture sector, where farmers were able to access €150 million of the more than €500 million made available by MADR. Towards the end of the year, the session dedicated to public authorities was also launched, where the exercise was a competitive one, based on the “first come – first served” principle.
More than 700 municipalities and local councils submitted projects on the first day of the session, where the REI team managed to secure a significant share of over 20% of projects.
“For future sessions of projects for photovoltaic or storage batteries through the Modernization Fund program, which will start in the next period, we recommend to the beneficiaries that when submitting the project, the Feasibility Study and the Certificate of Urbanism are prepared, and the Technical Approval for Connection (ATR) will be requested at the contracting stage. It is one of the most awaited funding programs of this year, and the interest is very high”, said Roxana Mircea.
3. INVESTALIM (session 2 – 2024)
- Session: opening (T1 est.);
- Grant support: minimum €500,000
- Co-financing: minimum 25%.
- Eligible sectors: food industry, processing, bakery CAEN: 1011, 1012, 1013, 1020, 1031, 1032, 1039, 1041, 1051, 1061, 1071, 1081
- Eligible applicants: start-ups, SMEs, large enterprises
- Authority responsible: Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development (MADR)
- Total allocation: €450 million (est.)
- Call details
The first session of the INVESTALIM program initially ran from 27 October to 27 November, and due to the high level of interest, MADR extended the session for another 30 days. A total of 49 projects were submitted for this first call, with the value of the investments, including co-financing, exceeding €1 billion, and the total state aid requested exceeded €300 million, more than double the allocation for the session.
“There are discussions at Ministry level for an increase in the allocation for Session 2 this year to over €450 million, but this detail is currently under consideration. Interest remains very high and we are in daily discussions with major agri-food clients for important production projects. About 20% of the projects submitted in the first session of INVESTALIM were brokered by REI, and the investments were in meat processing, bakery or oil production/refinery and amount to around €220 million,” said Roxana Mircea.
4. Waste Management – Recycling – NRPP
- Session: opening – February – March (est.)
- Objective: development and modernisation of municipal waste management systems
- Grant: between €500,000 and max. €8.4 million/project
- Eligible applicants: SMEs, large enterprises
- Total allocation: €220 million
- Responsible authority: Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests (MMAP)
- Call details
- List of eligible CAEN codes:
- 3821 – treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste;
- 3822 – treatment and disposal of hazardous waste;
- 3832 – recovery of sorted recyclable materials;
- 3831 – dismantling (disassembly) of disused machinery and equipment for recovery of materials
- 3811 – collection of non-hazardous waste;
- 3812 – collection of hazardous waste.
Postponed and delayed for about 2 years, Waste Management is one of the most eagerly awaited funding schemes for companies wishing to invest in recycling plants. The original budget announced by MMAP was over €280 million, but the current allocation has dropped to around €220 million.
5. CONSTRUCTPLUS – State aid for the building materials industry
- Session: 15 February – 15 March 2024;
- Objective: Production of building materials;
- Total allocation: €150 million (est.)
- Eligible applicants: start-ups, micro-enterprises, SMEs, large enterprises
- Authority responsible: Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEAT)
- Grant: up to €57.75 million (large enterprises), i.e. 70% maximum state aid intensity
- Eligible sectors: production of building materials, from the following CAEN classes:
- 1623 – Manufacture of other carpentry and joinery for building purposes;
- 2223 – Manufacture of plastic building products;
- 2312 – Processing and shaping of flat glass;
- 2331 – Manufacture of ceramic tiles and flags;
- 2332 – Manufacture of bricks, tiles and other clay building products;
- 2342 – Manufacture of ceramic sanitary ware;
- 2351 – Manufacture of cement;
- 2352 – Manufacture of lime and plaster;
- 2361 – Manufacture of concrete products for construction purposes;
- 2362 – Manufacture of plaster products for construction purposes;
- 2363 – Manufacture of concrete;
- 2364 – Manufacture of mortar;
- 2369 – Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, n.e.c.;
- 2370 – Cutting, shaping and finishing of stone;
- 2399 – Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, n.e.c;
- 2511 – Manufacture of structural metal products and parts thereof;
- 2512 – Manufacture of doors and windows of metal;
- 2732 – Manufacture of other electrical and electronic wiring and cables.
Announced last year, CONSTRUCTPLUS is the most eagerly awaited funding program for companies specialising in the production of construction materials. With a consolidated Guide already released to the market, entered in the Government meeting on Thursday – 11 January, the call is expected to open from 15 February and will be open for one month.
“We have dozens of discussions and projects in the pipeline on this funding scheme, so eagerly awaited by manufacturers of building materials, one of the most important investment sectors in the country. Although the allocation is relatively low compared to the existing demand in the market, we would like MEAT to consider increasing the allocation for future editions, similar to what is being negotiated for INVESTALIM”, said Roxana Mircea.
6. Grants for the development of advanced digital technologies – PNRR
- Total allocation: €150 million
- Funding: min. €500,000 – max. €3m/project
- Deadline: Q1 2024
- Eligible applicants: a) micro-enterprises, SMEs, cooperative societies serving the interests of their members through the investments foreseen in the project; investing in tangible and/or intangible assets for automation and robotics for technological flows, integrated with digital solutions and b) enterprises operating in one of the following sectors (CAEN): 5829, 6201, 6202, 6203, 6209, 6311, 6312, 6399
- Areas concerned: food industry, manufacturing industry, construction, automotive industry, transport and distribution, household services, tourism and other eligible areas
- Eligible expenditure: acquisition of tangible and intangible assets, acquisition of blockchain technologies, acquisition of tangible and intangible assets, cyber security, acquisition of artificial intelligence systems, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, acquisition of data services and cloud computing, eligible expenditure of research projects
- Responsible authority: Ministry of European Investment and Projects (MIPE)
7. Regional Programs 2021-2027 – SME investment funding
- Call launch calendar: PR CENTER = Jan. 2024, PR WEST = March-April 2024, PR SOUTH MUNTENIA = March-April 2024, PR SOUTH-WEST = March-April 2024
- Funding: min. 20.000euro – max. 3mil. euro, own contribution ca. 30%.
- Eligible applicants: micro-enterprises, SMEs
- Eligible expenditure: construction of premises, purchase of equipment, software, etc.
- Total allocation: €700m (SMEs);
- Targeted benefits: technological development and modernisation of SMEs, growth of dynamic SMEs with a focus on smart specialisation sectors, increased productive investment in SMEs, increased technological capabilities, acquisition of specific skills.
8. National Strategic Plan 2023-2027 (allocation: €938 million)
- DR-20 Investment in the livestock sector: allocation approx. €220 million – call launch Q1 2024
- DR-22 Investment in packaging, storage and processing of agricultural and fruit products: allocation approx. 210 million euro – launch call Q1 2024
- DR-15 Investment in fruit holdings: allocation approx. 150 million euro – launch call Q1 2024
- DR-13 Purchase of agricultural machinery for the plant sector: allocation approx. €100 million – launch call Q1 2024
- DR-14 Investment in small farms: allocation €108 million – launch call Q1 2024
- DR-16 Investments in the vegetable and/or potato sector: allocation approx. 150 million euro – launch call Q1 2024
In addition to the 8 major funding programs announced for this year, other schemes are in preparation at the ministries, including a new version of the scheme regulated by HG 807/2014, which in recent years has been the most important support solution for companies specialising in manufacturing, a new session for the scheme regulated by HG 959/2022, dedicated to manufacturing industries, RePower EU, a large funding program dedicated to increasing energy efficiency and independence from fossil fuels, as well as other programs in the PNRR, which represent another 40 billion euros of investment and development money for both the public and private sectors.