European City Facility offers grants for sustainable energy investment concepts

The European City Facility (EUCF) opened a new funding call to support local authorities in developing investment concepts for clean energy, heating, and cooling.

The program offers grants of up to 60,000 euros to 62 beneficiaries across eligible countries, funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. Municipalities, local authorities, and public entities can apply until December 21 to receive funds for the initial planning stages of sustainable energy projects.

The program allows local governments to create the first step of a business and financial plan for energy projects. This phase introduces a new way for authorities to prove their strategic commitment by submitting local heating and cooling plans. This change follows a reform of the European Directive on Energy Efficiency, which encourages or requires local authorities to develop such plans depending on their size.

The call is open to countries including Iceland, Ukraine, and several others, while also expanding to include entities from Moldova, North Macedonia, and Montenegro for the first time. The EUCF has previously supported over 400 local entities, resulting in validated investment concepts with a combined planned investment exceeding 30 billion euros.