The Ministry of Energy will open on February 8 a call for projects to support investments in the development of electricity storage capacities (batteries). The aid amounts to a maximum of 167,000 euros per MW, and the total allocation of the call is about 80 million euros. The maximum value of the non-reimbursable support cannot exceed 15 million euros, and the selection of beneficiaries will be made in descending order of the requested aid.

The session will be open within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Component 6, Investment I4, until March 21.

Eligible applicants are both newly established companies (start-ups), as well as SMEs or large companies, with CAEN code 35 (3511 – Electricity production or 3514 – Electricity trading) registered in the company statute and authorized by ONRC on the date of submission the project.

“When submitting the project, a Feasibility Study and Urban Planning Certificate are required, and when contracting, the Technical Connection Approval (ATR) will be requested”, draws the attention of Roxana Mircea, managing partner of REI Grup, who invites companies to speed up the project preparation process .

Investment aid is granted only to new installations, and project activities will not be started before the date of submission of the offer for financing to the Ministry of Energy, except for obtaining land and preparatory works, such as obtaining approvals and permits, carrying out feasibility studies (and technical studies established by standards and regulations for the preparation of the project) and the start of purchases, which are not considered as the start of works. The discharge/absorption capacity (MW) shall be at least 50% of the rated energy (MWh) of the battery, so that a full charge cycle does not take more than 2 hours and a full discharge cycle does not take more than for 2 hours. The purchase of installations/equipment for the construction of new capacities for storage of electrical energy in batteries, as well as constructions that are the subject of the project of storage of electrical energy in batteries, are eligible.

In the situation where the electricity storage facility is located within a building that is encumbered by a mortgage, the applicant will submit, when contracting the project, a letter from the lending institution (bank) according to which it undertakes not to execute the building/ the respective land and the investment financed from the NRRP for a period of at least 5 years after the project is put into operation.

“For the same type of investment we will also have financing through the Modernization Fund”, adds Roxana Mircea, managing partner of REI Grup, a group of companies specialized in the development, implementation and monitoring of investment projects both through non-reimbursable European funds and state aid schemes. According to data from 2022, REI ranks among the largest consulting companies specialized in attracting financing through European funds and state aid.

Investors are invited to send Letters of Intent by the end of January, before 31.01.2024, 23:59, to the email address [email protected].