Investment aid for the protection of the environment
Last update
Businesses that are undertaking a project to reduce their environmental impact or to integrate sustainable technologies may be eligible for aid under a special aid scheme.
The aid may be provided in the form of a capital grant, a recoverable advance payment, interest relief or a loan.
Who is concerned
Businesses concerned
This aid is intended solely for businesses that meet the following conditions:
- legally established in Luxembourg;
- hold a business permit; and
- undertaking an environmental- or climate protection-related project.
Eligible forms of investment
The aid scheme covers several types of environmental and climate protection-related investments and services, such as:
- investments that promote environmental protection and decarbonisation: projects that are designed to exceed environmental standards or anticipate future standards, and which include low-carbon technologies, or dedicated infrastructures for hydrogen, residual heat or CO₂, or CO₂ capture and transport;
- the acquisition or conversion of zero-emission road vehicles: purchase, lease or conversion of light or heavy goods vehicles to reach zero emissions;
- measures to promote energy efficiency (other than in buildings): investments that reduce final energy consumption by at least 20 % or 250 MWh p.a., excluding fossil fuel infrastructure;
- the production of renewable energy, renewable hydrogen and high-yield cogeneration: projects relating to the production, storage and transport of renewable energies, including biogas and high-performance cogeneration;
- efficient heat or cooling networks: construction, extension or modernisation of networks that mainly use renewable energies or waste heat;
- the efficient use of resources and circular economy systems: projects that seek to reduce the consumption of resources, replace raw materials with secondary materials, or improve waste recycling and reuse;
- energy infrastructures: construction or modernisation of infrastructure for electricity, hydrogen or heat, excluding gas or electricity storage;
- environmental protection- and energy-related studies and consulting services: energy audits, feasibility studies, and technical advice on preparing eligible projects.
Prerequisites
All businesses that meet the general conditions that apply to State aid are entitled to this type of aid.
Deadlines
The application must be submitted before the start of the works.
'Before the start of the works' means before:
- the start of the works covered by the investment;
- the first legally binding order of equipment, or any other commitment that makes the investment irreversible.
The purchasing of land and preparatory arrangements, such as applying for permits and conducting feasibility studies, are not considered as the start of the works.
In the case of a repurchase of assets, the start of the works is the moment the assets which are directly related to the acquired establishment are purchased.
How to proceed
Filing the application
The application for investment aid for the protection of the environment is to be submitted using the MyGuichet.lu online assistant.
The person filing the application (the applicant themselves or their representative) must have a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID).
How to create a business eSpace on MyGuichet.lu
There are 2 possible scenarios:
- You are a new user of MyGuichet.lu. You must:
- first register on MyGuichet.lu; and
- then create a business eSpace.
- You already have a private eSpace on MyGuichet.lu. You can directly create a business eSpace without having to register again.
Further information as well as tutorials in relation with the business eSpace are available in our dedicated help page.
Procedures for the granting of aid
Depending on the type and scale of the project, the aid is granted through three different procedures, i.e.: the simple-application procedure, the call-for-projects procedure, and the competitive-tendering procedure.
Simple-application procedure
The simple-application procedure is a simple procedure for obtaining aid that is not subject to a call-for-projects or a competitive-tendering procedure.
This procedure is only available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and can only be used for small-scale projects.
It is also the procedure that is used when the amount of aid being requested is less than or equal to EUR 100,000.
The application is reviewed individually by the competent authority in light of applicable legal and technical conditions. It is not compared against other projects.
The aim of this procedure is to make it easier and quicker for small-scale projects with a limited budget to gain access to funding.
Call-for-projects procedure
The call-for-projects procedure is a procedure whereby the competent authority invites businesses to submit projects with a focus on a specific, pre-defined theme or objective.
The aid is granted on a first come, first serve basis, provided that the project meets the applicable legal criteria.
Admissible applications are processed in the order in which they are received until the budget allocated for the call for projects is exhausted.
Once the entire budget has been exhausted, no further aid can be granted as part of the same call for projects, even for projects that meet all of the conditions.
Competitive-tendering procedure
The competitive-tendering procedure is a procedure that is mainly used for larger-scale projects, or if the number of applications is likely to exceed the amount of funding available.
In this procedure, projects are assessed and ranked based on one selection criterion only, which is defined in advance by the competent authority.
This criterion is the ratio between the aid being requested and the project's environmental impact.
In concrete terms, the projects are compared based on the amount of funding required to achieve a given unit of environmental impact (e.g. a reduction in emissions or an energy gain).
The projects with the best aid/impact ratio are prioritised.
The aid is then granted based on the ranking until the available budget is exhausted.
This procedure is designed to ensure that public funds are used efficiently and transparently, while maximising the environmental impact per euro of aid that is granted.
Maximum amount of financial aid
The table below summarises the maximum amount of aid that may be granted under all aid schemes, expressed as a percentage of eligible costs for simple applications or calls for projects. Each row represents a specific aid scheme or measure.
| Small businesses | Medium businesses | Large businesses | ||
| Investments that promote environmental protection and decarbonisation (1) | 25 % - 35 % |
20 % - 30 % | 15 % - 25 % |
|
| Acquisition or conversion of zero-emission road vehicles (2) | 60 % | 50 % | |
|
| Measures to promote energy efficiency (other than in buildings) (1) | 25 % | 20 % | 15 % | |
| Production of renewable energy, renewable hydrogen and high-yield cogeneration (3) | 50 % - 65 % | 40 % - 55 % | 30 % - 45 % | |
| Efficient heat or cooling networks (1) | 100 % of funding shortfall | 100 % of funding shortfall | 100 % of funding shortfall | |
| Efficient use of resources and circular economy systems (1) | 60 % | 50 %
|
40 % | |
| Energy infrastructures (4) | 100 % of funding shortfall | 100 % of funding shortfall | 100 % of funding shortfall | |
| Environmental protection- and energy-related studies and consulting services (3) | 80 % | 70 % | 60 % | |
Mark-ups may be applied to the rates shown in the table above (e.g. for assisted areas). Mark-ups are set by law.
(1) Simple application procedure for SMEs only, for amounts of less than EUR 100,000. In other cases, the aid is granted through a call-for-projects procedure.
(2) Simple application procedure for SMEs only, limited to aid covering up to five road vehicles per business and not exceeding EUR 300,000 per business. In other cases, the aid is granted through a competitive-tendering procedure.
(3) Simple application procedure for SMEs and large businesses.
(4) Aid granted only through a call-for-projects procedure.
Ongoing calls for projects
Calls for projects run from 5 January 2026 to 30 June 2026 for the following types of aid:
| Type of aid | Budget | |
| Investments that promote environmental protection and decarbonisation | EUR 10 million | |
| Measures to promote energy efficiency (other than in buildings) | EUR 15 million | |
| Efficient heat or cooling networks | EUR 5 million | |
| Efficient use of resources and circular economy systems | EUR 25 million | |
Payment of the aid
The capital grant and recoverable advance are paid out after the completion of the project, programme or activity.
However, one or more advance payments may be made as and when the investments are made.
The application for payment of the aid is to be submitted using the MyGuichet.lu online assistant. This can be done in 2 ways:
- with a detailed breakdown of costs, where each individual cost item is reported: to be used when reporting 10 invoices or less; or
- with a summary of costs, where the total per type of cost is reported: to be used when reporting more than 10 invoices.
Details of the documents to be provided depending on the cost statement templates can be found under "Pièces à joindre à la démarche en ligne MyGuichet.lu de demande de paiement" (Supporting documents to attach to the MyGuichet.lu online payment application procedure).
The person filing the application (the applicant themself or their representative) must have a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID).
Online services and forms
Who to contact
Ministry of the Economy General Directorate - State Aid and Company Financing (Financing and State Aid)
- Address:
-
19-21, boulevard Royal
L-2449
Luxembourg
L-2914 Luxembourg
- Email address:
- fae@eco.etat.lu
- Website:
- https://meco.gouvernement.lu/fr.html
Luxinnovation Aid
- Address:
- 5, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette
- Phone:
- (+352) 43 62 63 1
- Website:
- http://www.luxinnovation.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Tutorials
Links
Further information
Legal references
-
Loi modifiée du 15 décembre 2017
relative à un régime d’aides à la protection de l’environnement
-
Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014
declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty
-
Consolidated text: Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014
declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty
