In its first year of operation, the Modernisation Fund made available €898.43 million to eight beneficiary countries to help modernise their energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy, industry, transport and agriculture and support them in meeting their 2030 climate and energy targets. Investments were confirmed in Czechia (€320 million), Estonia (€24.59 million), Croatia (€2.15 million), Hungary (€34.28 million), Lithuania (€28 million), Poland (€346.40 million), Romania (€22.99 million), and Slovakia (€120 million).
European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “The Modernisation Fund is European solidarity in action. In its first year in operation, it has provided concrete support to beneficiary countries, enabling them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in key sectors. The Modernisation Fund thus helps to deliver the EU’s climate and energy targets and make the Green Deal a reality.”
European Investment Bank Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle added: “Member States have different starting points in reaching the European Union`s 2030 energy and climate targets. The Modernisation Fund helps ten countries by financing the modernisation of energy systems, improvement of energy efficiency and renewable energy use and facilitating a Just Transition. As the EU climate bank, we are delighted to offer our expertise and services to the European Commission and Member States to accelerate the clean energy transition.”
The Modernisation Fund is supporting 26 investment proposals in the areas of electricity generation from renewable sources, modernisation of energy networks and energy efficiency in the energy sector, in industry, in buildings, in transport as well as in agriculture. Examples of the investment proposals that the Fund is backing are:
- energy efficiency and renewable energy use in Croatia;
- the implementation of photovoltaic installations in Czechia;
- the improvement of energy efficiency and renewable energy use in Estonia;
- the establishment of energy communities in Hungary;
- the improvement of energy efficiency in agriculture in Lithuania;
- the development of power grids for future electric car charging stations in Poland;
- the modernisation of energy networks in Romania;
- the modernisation of energy networks in Slovakia.
The deadline for beneficiary Member States to submit investment proposals for potential support by the Modernisation Fund for the next disbursement cycle is 27 January 2022 for non-priority proposals, i.e. investments that fall outside the Fund’s priority areas, and 24 February 2022 for priority proposals, i.e. investments that fall under the priority areas.
Background information
Modernisation Fund
Funded by revenues from the auction of emission allowances from the EU’s Emissions Trading System, the Modernisation Fund aims to support ten EU countries with lower-income in their transition to climate neutrality by modernising their power sector and wider energy systems, boosting energy efficiency, and facilitating a just transition. The beneficiary countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
The Modernisation Fund supports investments in generation and use of energy from renewable sources, energy efficiency, energy storage, modernisation of energy networks, including district heating, pipelines and grids, and just transition in carbon-dependent regions. The Fund complements other European instruments such as the cohesion policy and the Just Transition Fund. The Fund operates under the responsibility of its beneficiary countries in close cooperation with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.
The EIB’s investment proposal assessment activities in the Modernisation Fund are ring-fenced from the standard EIB financing and technical assistance operations in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest in carrying out the activities mandated in accordance with the ETS Directive and the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1001 of 9 July 2020.
