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GRW · Case study

GRW funding to diversify into renewables.

Practical example based on real projects · anonymised, figures rounded · Last updated:

GRW is not only for expansion but also for reinvention. It funds the diversification of an existing site into genuinely new products. A metalworking company in a structurally weak region used it to move into renewable-energy components, with the higher small-company rate making the strongest case.

€700k
grant
~35%
funding rate
€2M
eligible base
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At a glance

The case in figures

ProgrammeGRWRegional investment grant
Amount€700kNon-repayable investment grant
Project typeDiversification into new products
Eligible base~€2M
Funding rate~35%
SectorIndustry · Renewables
The project

What GRW funded here

A long-established metalworking company in a structurally weak region has built its business on components for a declining customer industry. To secure its future, it decides to diversify into manufacturing structural and mounting components for renewable-energy installations, a different product line that requires new machinery and new fabrication capabilities.

What GRW funds

How the programme works

The Joint Task for Improving Regional Economic Structure (GRW) gives a non-repayable investment grant for job-creating investment in structurally weak regions. As well as new establishments and capacity expansions, it explicitly supports the diversification of an existing establishment into new products, provided the new activity is genuinely different from what the site did before. The eligible costs are the acquisition and production costs of the fixed assets behind the new activity, typically the new machinery and fabrication equipment.

Small companies receive the highest rates: 30 or 35 percent in C-areas (5 points more with strong population decline), 45 percent in C-areas on the Czech or Polish border and 20 percent in D-areas. The conditions are the standard GRW ones: apply before starting and before any binding contract, complete within 36 months, and keep assets and jobs for at least five years. A diversification meets the regional effect automatically when the new activity falls into a different four-digit WZ class. The grant also fits the growing emphasis of GRW on investments that support the transformation towards a climate-neutral economy.

How it worked

From scope to grant

This is not simply replacing old machines but moving into a new market with new production capability, which is what GRW's diversification track is for. The eligible costs are the new machinery and the related fabrication equipment. As a small company, the manufacturer qualifies for a higher rate than a medium-sized one; in this assisted area the rate reaches around 35 percent. On an eligible investment of about €2 million in new equipment, the non-repayable grant comes to roughly €700,000. The diversification secures the existing jobs and creates new ones tied to the renewable-energy line, which strengthens the case.

The result

A €700k GRW grant.

A transformative amount turns a risky strategic pivot into a fundable one. The company moves from a shrinking market into a growing one, with a large share of the necessary new equipment covered by a non-repayable grant, and secures employment in a region under structural pressure.

Investment grant · ~35% of eligible costs
Investment grantIndustry · Renewables.
~€2M eligible baseThe base the grant is calculated on.
Non-repayable grantNot repaid as long as you keep the jobs and assets for five years.
Key takeaways

What this means for you

A traditional company in a structurally weak region that needs to move into a new market can fund a large share of the necessary new equipment through GRW, with the higher small-company rate making the strongest case. The key test is that the new activity is genuinely different from what the site did before, a reinvention, not a replacement.

More on GRW: The guide GRW funding: regions, rates and application explains the programme step by step. How we support your project is covered under GRW consulting.

FAQ

GRW, in short

The questions we hear most about the programme. Short answer first, detail after.

Yes, provided the new activity is genuinely different from what the site did before.

Small companies receive the highest GRW rates: 30 or 35 percent in C-areas (5 points more with strong population decline), 45 percent in C-areas on the Czech or Polish border and 20 percent in D-areas.

No. Simply replacing existing machines is not diversification; the new activity has to be genuinely different, such as a new product line for a new market.

Yes. Accelerating the transformation towards a climate-neutral and sustainable economy is one of the three main aims of GRW. There are dedicated funding categories for investments with special environmental-protection or energy-efficiency effects and for self-supply from renewable energy, regardless of company size.

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